Dark Secrets
by CarlieD
Summary: When the Volturi come to execute Jasper for a crime committed during his war years, Alice makes a deal with Aro to save him: his life for her service. Semi-sequel to Broken Soul Mended.
1. A Deal with the Devil

**Dark Secrets**

_When the Volturi come to execute Jasper for a crime committed during his war years, Alice makes a deal with Aro to save him: his life for her service. Semi-sequel to Broken Soul Mended._

A/N: Well, you _could_ read this as a stand-alone. You don't necessarily have to have read Broken Soul Mended to understand this one. But it'd be nice if you did… I _do_ look at my stats, and big numbers make me happy…

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight.

**Previously, in Broken Soul Mended:**

"_Something major must've happened in the South," Edward said quietly. "Aro's come with the guard. Demetri, Felix, Alec, Jane… they're all with him. It's the only thing I can think of that would merit such a large group."_

"_But then why would they be coming here?" Emmett asked again._

"If I'm going down, I'm sure as hell taking you with me,"_ Maria's voice hissed inside his mind._

_Edward turned his attention to Jasper. "You don't think…" he started to say._

"_It makes sense," Jasper replied quietly. "It's the only thing that makes sense."_

"_But you haven't done anything," Edward said. "Nothing –" Then he inhaled sharply, simultaneously with Alice screaming,_

"_NO!"_

"_They are, aren't they?" Jasper asked, resigned to the inevitable truth that he'd always known would happen one day._

"_But you haven't done anything," Edward repeated, his tone bewildered. As he paused, Jasper went back to Alice, pulling her into his arms securely. Alice moaned in distress, burying her face into his shoulder._

"_What's going on?" Rosalie demanded, turning around to look at Edward._

_Edward was still trying to find the words when Jasper answered her quietly, rocking his wife comfortingly._

"_The Volturi are coming to execute me."_

**

* * *

**

Prologue – A Deal with the Devil

"But _why_?" Bella asked. "It's been over a hundred years since you left the South."

Jasper frowned, still rubbing Alice's back. "Some crimes aren't forgiven with time."

"I can't think of anything short of creating immortal children that would necessitate an execution a century later," Carlisle said quietly. "Jasper, you weren't –"

"No, of course not. I'd be dead already if I had been creating immortal children," Jasper replied sharply.

"Please don't use that word," Alice moaned. "The future can always change…"

"Then I'm at a loss to explain it," Carlisle said with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry. I know why," Jasper murmured.

"Do the rest of us a favour, then, and don't tell anybody," Edward said sharply.

"Why –" Esme started to ask, when Jasper cut her off.

"Because if I tell you before the Volturi arrive, you're all going to be considered guilty for harboring me," he replied quietly.

"Alice, that'll only make things worse," Edward said suddenly, looking at her. After a brief silence, he continued, "And if you think anybody is going to agree to that, you're insane."

"Alice, sweetheart, there's no use in trying to think of a way out," Jasper whispered into her ear. "There's no way around it."

"There _must_ be…" she cried. "Jasper, you can't…"

"I'm sorry, Lissy," he said, concern beginning to eat away at him as her distress tripled. "There's no use."

The rest of the family began to exit the room slowly at that point, leaving only Jasper, Alice, Edward and Bella.

"What if –" Alice started to say, looking at Bella.

"Alice, Bella's shield is only good against _mental _attack," Edward cut her off gently. "It won't help Jasper."

"Lissy, there's nothing you can do," Jasper consoled, heart breaking as she broke down sobbing. "Shh, it's okay…"

"No, it's not, Jasper!" she shrieked.

Rather than risking saying something wrong again, Jasper just wrapped her closer in his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Shh, darling… I love you. I love you…" Looking back up at Edward, he asked for one last favour.

_Don't let her do anything… rash._

"No promises," Edward said quietly. "I've been there. It sucks."

Yeah. Wrong person to ask. Edward would probably end up putting Alice out of her misery himself.

"That's probably true," Edward agreed.

_And don't let her watch them do it._

"Now _that_ I can promise," Edward replied.

*~*~*

The house had been deathly silent – no pun intended – for about an hour when Alice said simply, her voice muffled into his sweater, "They're here."

Jasper took a deep breath to try and calm himself. "I love you, Alice," he repeated for what must've been the hundredth time. "No matter what happens, I will _always_ love you. You made everything in my century of life before you worth the hundred I got with you."

"Please, Jasper…" she begged. "Don't leave me. Don't…"

"Shh, Lissy," he soothed. "If it were up to me, I'd never leave your side. But it's not up to me, darling." He could hear Aro's indistinct voice downstairs, Carlisle's cautious replies. "Stay here, okay? For me."

"Mmmm," was all he could make out of Alice's distressed reply, as Emmett appeared in the doorway.

"They're asking for you downstairs," he said quietly.

"Asking?" Jasper said dryly.

"Well, asking in a very stern, 'do-it-or-die' kind of way," Emmett amended.

"No, Jasper, please…" Alice gasped when he got to his feet. Swiftly, Emmett had gently uncurled Alice's fingers from their death-grip on Jasper's sweater, pulling her into a half-comforting, half-restraining hug. The apology in his emotions convinced Jasper that Emmett wasn't doing this because he was eager for Jasper to be gone. "No, Emmett, let me go…"

"Thank you," Jasper said quietly to his brother, leaning down to kiss Alice one last time. Trying to memorize the taste of her lips against his, he lingered longer than he knew was good for her, until finally he had to break away, emotions threatening to overcome him.

Apparently he'd lingered too long, because before he'd even realized it, Alec had appeared in the doorway with Felix, suspicion in their emotions. And his world went black within seconds.

*~*~*

"No, no, no, let me go…" Alice cried, struggling valiantly against Emmett's grip as she watched Felix lift Jasper's inert body into his arms easily. Alec followed along smugly behind Felix, his eyes still focused on Jasper. "Let me go, Em, they _can't_… Jasper…"

The others appeared in the doorway at that moment, Jane's angelic face fairly glowing with ecstasy as Aro said nonchalantly, "I was beginning to wonder if you were stalling me for a reason, Carlisle. It seems that I was mistaken."

"I'd merely like to know what it is you're accusing my son of, Aro," Carlisle replied quietly.

"We know he's done it," Jane spoke up, barely-contained glee in her voice. "Master has seen in the minds of the ones in Mexico."

"And what is so terrible that you feel the need to go after Jasper more than a hundred years later?" Carlisle asked coolly. "Or _would_ you have gone after him if he hadn't been with us?"

"Why don't you let him tell you himself?" Aro replied, his eyes flicking back to Alice momentarily. There was a hint of longing in those blood-red eyes, and faint hope. "Felix, let him down. Alec, release him."

"But Master," Alec protested, even as Felix did as ordered.

"Alec, release him," Aro repeated. "He'll speak on his own."

Alec broke his gaze with Jasper, a dark pout on his face. Jane squeezed his hand comfortingly.

Jasper groaned as he came to, slowly sitting up with one hand to his forehead. Alice let out a slight whimper, trying once more to free herself from Emmett's arms.

"Jasper," Aro said casually, leaning back against the wall, "Carlisle would like to know why it is you're being executed. Please tell the whole story, if you would. Maria gave me everything before we eliminated her. I shall know if you aren't being truthful."

Jasper hesitated, shame flooding his eyes. "When I was with Maria in Mexico, we – _I_ –" he amended quickly, as Aro frowned at him, "– accidentally came across a way to create a sort of… well, a sort of super-powerful newborn."

"You'll need to tell him more than that," Aro prompted.

"They became known in the south as newborns who were _endemoniado_, possessed by the devil," Jasper continued quietly, focusing his gaze on the floor. "The _endemoniado_ are… difficult to control."

"Next to impossible, as far as I can tell," Aro commented calmly.

"It's possible," Jasper snapped; immediately, Alec and Jane had appeared on either side of Aro, awaiting his orders.

"What makes them different from any other newborn?" Edward asked, before Jasper's temper could get him into any more trouble.

Jasper hesitated again. "The _endemoniado_… they're much more powerful than even the most powerful of newborns. They could rip Emmett apart without the slightest effort exerted, even if he were using all of his strength. Their sense of self-discipline is practically nonexistent. What they want, they go for. Their thirst… it's impossible to sate. I've seen some who would kill as many as ten humans in one night and still be screaming for more when Maria and I would force them back to headquarters. The worst of it – their newborn stage, I guess you could call it – is the first five or six years after they're turned. It varies, depending on how bad their transformation was."

"Aren't all transformations bad?" Rosalie asked bluntly.

Again, Jasper hesitated. "The transformation of an _endemoniado_," he continued, his voice becoming more and more detached from the subject matter, "is much different than anything any of you experienced. As much pain as your transformation was, Rosalie, Carlisle wasn't interested in intentionally hurting you. That's what differentiates an _endemoniado_ from a normal newborn."

"Torture," Rosalie said simply.

"Yes," Jasper said, and there was a new tightness in his voice as he kept his gaze focused on the floor. "A transformation intentionally made more painful than necessary."

"Are these… _endemoniado_ recognizable?" Aro asked. It was clear that he was trying to lead the conversation in a particular direction.

Jasper turned a furious glare on Aro. "Is that pertinent to what they wanted to know?" he asked tersely.

"Absolutely."

Sighing, Jasper continued, "The _endemoniado_ have extremely bright eyes. They almost look like they're glowing, especially as newborns."

"That would be for ones who drink human blood, of course," Aro cut in swiftly. "If one were to have your family's rather peculiar taste –"

"_That_ is not pertinent," Jasper hissed immediately, flying to his feet even as Edward let out a sharp gasp of shock and Alec and Jane flew into action with identical snarls. Then he collapsed to the ground again, prisoner again to Alec's power.

"Edward, would you care to finish your brother's statement?" Aro asked pleasantly.

Edward's face was still horror-stricken.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked warily.

"No." Edward's voice was firm. "No, I won't."

"Very well," Aro sighed dramatically. "Maria told me a few very interesting tidbits before she died. It seems one peculiarity that these _endemoniado_ seem to share is a curiously blank memory. If they remember anything at all from before, it's only one or two small pieces of information. The more torture they underwent, the less they recall." He paused. "I had the opportunity to see inside the mind of an _endemoniado_ in Maria's army. It was as though the memory had actually been _erased_. Not simply forgotten, but as if it had never happened. I've only ever encountered such a mind once before."

"Me," Alice said hoarsely, eyes still focused on her husband's motionless body.

Edward spoke again, his voice soft and compassionate. "It took him decades to piece it together, Alice. Your eyes… it's extremely faint. He isn't sure that anybody else has ever noticed it. And once he'd realized it – it makes him actually physically ill to think about it, Alice. He doesn't like the thought of somebody putting you through that much pain. He thought you were better off not knowing."

"Well, I believe we've stalled this long enough," Aro said briskly, cutting off the conversation before it could start. Felix and Demetri stepped forward, Alec and Jane both wearing identical smirks on their faces. Immediately, both Edward and Emmett had taken hold of Alice, who had let out another cry of distress at his words and began struggling anew.

"For God's sake, Aro, wait until she's gone!" Carlisle exclaimed sharply, pulling Esme's trembling form into his arms. "Edward, Emmett, get her out of here. All of you, out," he added to the others authoritatively, passing Esme off to Rosalie.

*~*~*

It was like it had just hit her all of a sudden. She knew how to save him.

"Wait!" Alice gasped, still trying to pull away from Emmett.

"Yes?" Aro asked, a faint tone of triumph in his voice as he turned to her. Holding a hand up to Felix and Demetri, he waited for her to continue.

"Alice, don't," Edward ordered sharply, hearing the words and seeing the vision in her mind only milliseconds before she spoke them.

_It's the only way, Edward… _"If I agree to go to Volterra, would you let him live?" she asked, wincing as she saw the vision again, clearer and closer than ever before. Her, at Aro's side, dressed in the dark cloak of the guard. Jasper, alive, waiting for her in the doorway of the chamber, soundless words leaving his mouth as he spoke to Aro with the same cloak thrown over one shoulder.

"Alice, _no_," Edward repeated.

"Shut up, Edward," Alice snapped. Shocked, Edward fell silent, a dark glower on his face as Aro's eyes betrayed his thoughts to the rest of the family.

"Why don't _you_ tell _me_?" Aro replied, obviously trying to contain the triumph in his voice when he stepped towards her.

"Emmett, let me go," Alice requested quietly. Reluctantly, Emmett released her, and she remained perfectly still as Aro touched her forehead lightly, her eyes focused on Jasper.

Finally, he removed his hand, a gleam in his eyes as he said, "Well, you have your answer already, then, don't you, Alice?"


	2. The Conditions of Hell

**_Chapter 1: The Conditions of Hell_**

Edward was furious with her, she could see that much as she gave Bella one last hug.

"Don't worry about him," Bella murmured into her ear. "No matter what he says, I know he'd do the same thing if he were in your position. Just… promise me you'll be careful. I want my sister back one day."

Alice smiled at her before she nodded. "Of course, Bella."

Turning to Carlisle, she waited for the words she already knew were going to come out of his mouth. "Carlisle, I'm –"

"Shh, Alice, you don't have to explain," he said immediately, pulling her into his arms for a tight hug. "Just… be careful. Don't forget who you are. It's easy to lose humanity in Volterra…"

Nodding, Alice pulled away, turning to rejoin Aro at the door.

*~*~*

"Can't you tell him to let Jasper go?" Alice asked softly as the Volturi's private jet took off, still cradling Jasper's motionless head in her lap. She traced the outlines of his facial features, watching as his face remained smooth and expressionless. "Please?"

"Very well," Aro ceded with a nod, waving brusquely at Alec. Grumbling under his breath, Alec turned away and went to rejoin Jane, who was glowering in disgust at Alice in a corner seat.

Jasper groaned softly, eyes finally focusing on her face. "Am I dead?" he asked in soft dismay, face leaning into her hand.

"No, you're not dead," Alice replied affectionately. "Just waking up," she continued, delivering a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you," she whispered as he sat up, looking around with a frown on his face. "Jasper?"

"What's going on?" he asked softly, accepting her into his arms as she curled up against him.

"I had to make a deal with Aro," she murmured. "I agreed to join the guard so that he'd let you live. We're going to Volterra."

"Oh, _Alice_…" Jasper said, leaning back against the seats as she nestled in closer. "I wish you hadn't done that. Now he's got you trapped…"

"Anything is better than existing without you, however short it might've been," Alice whispered. "Edward would've put me out of my misery before 48 hours was up. And it would've been a terrible 48 hours."

Jasper looked over at where Aro was sitting, contemplating the young couple with a frown on his face.

"Ignore him, _please_," Alice whispered almost inaudibly, pulling his head down for a lingering kiss. "Just don't think about it."

Aro's eyes narrowed as Jasper broke his gaze with him, focusing on Alice and her pleading eyes. But it didn't take long before she sat up straight, hissing at Aro, "That was _not_ our agreement!"

"You would rather go back to the original arrangement?" Aro asked casually. "By all means, I'm amenable to that."

"No!" Alice said immediately, panic infiltrating her emotions. Jasper frowned at Aro, tightening his arms around Alice's waist. What had he decided that had gotten Alice so anxious?

"Then I would suggest getting used to it, Alice, because that was my final decision," Aro replied, returning his attention to the Italian newspaper in front of him.

"Shhh, Alice, it's okay…" Jasper soothed anxiously, rubbing her arm. "It's okay, baby…"

Alice just moaned and buried her face into his chest.

*~*~*

Once arrived in Volterra, Jasper had a terrible feeling that there had some major catch to Alice and Aro's deal – a catch that somehow involved him. Maybe a catch that Alice hadn't realized until it was too late…

"Alice, what was the catch?" Jasper murmured into her ear as they entered the Volturi's domain. "Sweetheart, tell me now."

"He's separating us," Alice replied softly, her hand tightening in his. "You're going to the catacombs."

Jasper tried to keep his composure, for Alice's sake. He'd heard people in the South speak of the catacombs of Volterra. Carlisle had once described them for him, calling them 'Alec and Jane's playground'. Those who went in usually didn't come out, and those that did emerge alive… were never the same. Day in and day out, for weeks, months, sometimes even years, Alec and Jane could give in to their darker, deadlier sides without Aro's supervision – no person ever truly recovered from that.

"I promise, I'll get you out as soon as I can," she whispered.

"I'll be okay," he soothed. "Just don't get yourself thrown in there with me, all right?"

"I know you'll be fine," she fussed, "but I don't like the thought of leaving you there by yourself… and I don't know _how long_…" She wrinkled her forehead, evidently trying to untangle his uncertain future. "And it doesn't help that Alec and Jane keep debating on what they'll do first…"

Aro paused at one of the many unmarked doors in the corridors. "Jasper?" he said expectantly. "I expect by now you're aware of the arrangements?"

"Yes," Jasper said quietly. Ducking down, he laid one last kiss on Alice's lips. "Every day of forever, my love," he whispered in her ear. "Don't forget."

"I won't," she whispered back. "I'll see you soon. Promise."

And with that, Jasper steeled himself mentally as he ducked in the doorway and walked down the age-old stone stairs on his own power.

It was the last thing he'd do on his own power for quite some time.

*~*~*

"Alec, Jane, later, my dears," Aro said in a fatherly tone as Alec and Jane were looking gleefully behind them at the closing catacomb door. "I promise, you will have your fun."

Alice winced as the vision of Jasper crying out in pain hit her over and over again.

"Aro, you have returned," came Caius' steady voice from the shadows. "What caused your delay?" He and Marcus emerged into the hallway, followed by two women that Alice assumed must've been the Volturi wives.

"I was beginning to worry, Aro," one woman spoke up, her voice light as feathers as she came to his side and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Well, who is this?" she asked, seeing Alice for the first time.

"This is not one of Carlisle's girls?" Caius asked in surprise, turning to Alice.

"Indeed," Aro replied, apparently unable to conceal his smug delight any longer. "Alice has agreed to join the guard."

"Oh, yes, you are the clairvoyant, are you not?" Aro's wife – Sulpicia, she remembered Carlisle calling her – said. "Every time I see Carlisle, the coven has grown. I simply cannot keep track of them all." She laughed lightly. "Your coven is beginning to rival the guard in its size."

Alice forced a smile onto her face. "Yes. I'm Alice Cullen."

Marcus was studying her intently. "I seem to recall you having a mate. The Southerner, was it not?" he asked quietly. His eyes seemed to follow an invisible trail behind her, his gaze stopping on the door to the catacombs.

"Alice is the only one joining the guard," Aro cut in swiftly. "Sadly, I couldn't convince Edward and Bella. Alec, Jane, Felix, Demetri, if you would find the rest of the guard and give them an update on the happening in the South, that would be appreciated. After that, you're free to do what you please. Sulpicia, dear, why don't we catch up elsewhere?"

Caius and Athenodora both drifted off without further words, leaving Alice alone with Marcus.

"Somehow, I get the idea that you did not come of your own volition," Marcus said quietly, once he'd looked around to make sure everybody was gone. "What did Aro use to force your hand?"

Alice hesitated.

"He has your mate," Marcus said, looking beyond her at the catacomb door. "I can see that he came with you." Pausing, he thought for a moment. "As I understand the situation that Aro went to eliminate, your mate stumbled across the phenomenon by accident. It was his creator who turned it into a war tactic, and there is no doubting that he has turned his back on her and his past. I'm guessing that you have been with him for some time?"

Alice smiled slightly. "One hundred years yesterday," she replied softly.

"Yes, I can see the strength – perhaps even stronger than your brother's love for his singer. I would have to see them together in order to more fully judge… Such strength can only happen over a long period of time. And in those hundred years that you have known him, has he ever deliberately done anything to match the magnitude of the things he did in the South?" Marcus' eyes were watching her now, a sort of knowing sympathy in them.

"Never," Alice replied firmly. "And longer than I've known him, even. He left Maria some years before we met. The nomads he travelled with will vouch for that."

"I did not think so," Marcus murmured. "He would have to be who he said he was, to remain with your coven so long. Carlisle does not tolerate liars very well…" He sighed. "I imagine that Aro insisted upon his execution, when your mate's creator tried to take him down with her?"

Alice nodded, still cringing at the memory of believing that he would die. "I asked him to spare Jasper."

"In exchange for your services in the guard," Marcus finished. "Yes, that was doubtlessly his plan. Banking on you exchanging anything for the life of your mate. Alice, was it?"

She nodded again.

"Somehow, I doubt that he mentioned your mate would be sent to the catacombs?"

"No. That wasn't mentioned until we were on the plane, halfway over the Atlantic."

Marcus nodded. "When he realized how strong your relationship was, he doubtlessly felt threatened." He paused as Alice waited for the point of this conversation to come to the surface. "Come with me, Alice. If you are to remain with the guard, there are certain things you must know. Things that are best not discussed in such open areas."

*~*~*

Jasper sighed as he walked the path through the catacombs once more. This was worse than he'd thought, being trapped down here with no sound, no light, no way of knowing what was happening to Alice up there… There was only one other person in the deathly prison, and they seemed dead to the world around them.

He would probably go crazy without Alec and Jane ever having to look at him.

Trailing his hand along the cold, mildewed stones, he was reminded of the sewers beneath Monterrey, where he and Maria had once hidden their army for twenty years. Goddamn Maria… he sincerely hoped she was burning in the deepest pits of hell, because even when she was dead, she was still destroying his life.

It was extremely difficult to see where he was going, so it wasn't surprising that eventually, he tripped on something.

That something let out a startled shriek – he'd tripped over the ankle of the other prisoner. A woman, from the sounds of it – older than most vampires you found. Usually they were in their late teens or twenties. On occasion, you found some in their thirties, but this one… well, no, maybe she was in her thirties.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," Jasper said immediately, stepping aside. "I didn't mean to step on you."

"Oh, that is fine," she replied. "I just… I thought you might have been one of those horrid twins." The southern accent in her voice and the careful, mindfully perfect manner of speaking reminded Jasper of his human mother. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Jasper replied, sliding down to the ground carefully. "You?"

"Oh, an eternity, it seems." The woman sighed. "The one who created me was executed many years ago. Aro discovered my talent and elected to take me back to Volterra rather than execute me. But I am apparently too difficult to deal with on a daily basis." She laughed dryly. "So he calls when he has need of me. Of course, that is rare. It is not often that he needs, or wants, to wipe a person's memory."

*~*~*

"The first thing that you need to remember is that Aro is a covetous man," Marcus said swiftly, closing the door to his quarters behind Alice. "Covetous and jealous. What he does not have, he wants, and he wants it all. He does not share very well, Aro." His face darkened for a moment. "And he takes even less well to what he has, leaving." Marcus looked at her. "In a way, it is good that you volunteered to come here. It may have saved your coven's lives. One day, Aro would have had enough of trying to convince yourself and your brother to join the guard, and he would have eliminated everybody and everything that he thought was holding you back."

Alice nodded. "But now that I'm here…"

"He will not permit you to leave. Ever." Marcus turned to examine a portrait hanging on the wall, tracing his fingers across the woman's hauntingly beautiful face. "The second thing that you must remember is that Aro does not truly feel love or compassion. It is why he prefers Alec and Jane to any of the other guards." He paused. "His ties to Sulpicia are more of a matter of convenience and mutual betterment than true affection. As such, do not expect him to be swayed by pleas or begging. That is better left to convince soft hearts such as Carlisle." Marcus turned back to her. "You would do well to downplay any concern for your mate's wellbeing. Aro does not care about what he does not want, and your mate would not be in the catacombs if Aro had any desire for his gift. He will not hesitate to eliminate your mate if he fears you will not cooperate in full. He did so to his own sister…"

There was silence for a moment while Alice kept still, trying to think of a way around the scrupulous rules Aro was going to set up.

She heard the dark, menacing laughter of Alec and Jane echoing down the hall, and she flinched as the vision of them torturing Jasper struck her once more.

"When you know whom to trust, Alice," Marcus said finally, with a new, low urgency in his voice, "you may find life a little easier to bear in this place. Volterra is much different than the outside world. Listen to me carefully, because I will only tell you these things once."

*~*~*

"You will become able to endure the pain," the woman said softly, once Alec and Jane had left upon Aro's call.

He could barely stand to move, but he forced himself to endure it. For a power that didn't have an effect on the body, it had certainly felt like it did while Jane was happily torturing him. "That doesn't comfort me," he muttered, hoping against all reason that Alice hadn't seen that. He hated looking vulnerable to her, because she was vulnerable enough as it was. He had told Bella otherwise, to calm her fears, but the truth was that he usually would've agreed – Alice was small, slight. The sort of person that he used to rip to shreds without an ounce of effort. Yes, she was fast, but it was her sole physical advantage without the _endemoniado_ active – if somebody were to catch her, she would be finished. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it wasn't hard to hurt her…

"Tell me about your past," the woman said. "It will distract you from the pain. Where did you come from before this? Did you have a coven that you had left behind? Why did Aro put you here?"

Jasper sighed, closing his eyes. "My family… we were living in Oregon. In America. The others still are. We're ten in number – eight of us full vampires, one a half-vampire and her mate, a shape-shifter."

"Such a thing exists?" the woman asked.

"Yes. It's a genetic predisposition found within his tribe. They exist to guard their tribe and the other humans in their area from our kind."

"Oh… were those the American wolves? The guard were all talking about it a number of years back. There had been some sort of massive wrongdoing…"

"There was no wrongdoing, just a misunderstanding," Jasper replied sharply. "But yes, those are who I mean."

"And such a large number…" the woman breathed.

"It's very unusual," Jasper agreed. "It took some getting used to… But it's nice, on occasion, to have a family as big as ours. You don't get a whole lot of privacy, though."

"Tell me about them," the woman asked. "You call them your family?"

*~*~*

"Do not trust the young guards," Marcus warned. "Alec, Jane, Renata… they are so attached to Aro, they will do everything within their power to rid themselves of you. Your only hope may be that Chelsea will understand your situation. She is the only one within the guard who holds a true mate, and is the oldest to this life of the guards, young _or_ old. She holds perhaps the most power in this place, besides Aro, Caius and myself."

"Is Renata really that young?" Alice asked curiously. "When we met her, she seemed older."

"A side-product of her human circumstances," Marcus replied. "She appears much older than she is. In reality, Renata is no more than 16. Do not let her fool you – she is as crafty as her master. Make an ally out of Chelsea – I cannot stress this enough – and her mate, Afton. If you have them on your side, the majority of the guard will leave you and your mate alone."

"The majority," Alice repeated slowly.

"Nobody can stop Alec and Jane from doing what they please in their own domain," Marcus explained. "Aro has given them the catacombs. The twins are as power-hungry as Aro, but they prefer terror to politics. It is a dangerous, symbiotic alliance that they have."

"But what about Jasper?" Alice asked.

"There is very little anybody in Volterra can do for your mate now," Marcus murmured. "Befriend Chelsea and Afton. They are your best hope – and your mate's only – hope of surviving relatively unscathed."


	3. Forgotten, Stolen Moments

**_Chapter 2: Forgotten, Stolen Moments_**

It was chaos within the walls of Volterra. It seemed to Alice as though the sun would never set, the other guards would never leave and she would never get the chance to have some peace and quiet to be alone with her thoughts.

Lying back on her bed (which still seemed pretty useless for somebody who didn't sleep and who had no mate with her), Alice stared at the stone ceiling above her, watching Alec and Jane giggle in dark amusement as Jasper cried out again.

Moaning, she curled herself into a tight ball, aching to go down and touch his face, to soothe and comfort him.

Almost two months, it had been like this. Daily, Alec and Jane would go into the catacombs, and they would drive him into near-insanity. Sometimes they would focus their attentions on the other prisoner – a woman, she couldn't see any more than that – and leave Jasper alone. Not often, though.

And then there had been the feeding times. Aro had categorically refused to allow her to leave Volterra to hunt on her own, and no guard would agree to accompany her. Her throat was burning in pain and there had been many near misses. She was sure that she would go crazy if she didn't feed, and very soon.

To say nothing of the torture Alec had put Jasper through… About a month before, Aro had sent one of the human victims to the catacombs, for the prisoner inside. Jasper had been so desperate, in so much pain by that time that he would've fought the other prisoner to the death for the human's blood, had Alec not removed control of his muscles. Jasper had had no other choice but to remain motionless, screaming in agony as the other prisoner had drained the single human, her breaths ragged and movements rapid, defensive.

And he still hadn't fed. Two months with nothing… he was in so much pain, Alice could barely stand to see him in her mind. He had become terribly weak, tremors racking his body –

"Don't watch him, then, if it hurts you," Chelsea's quiet voice came from the doorway. "I wouldn't want to watch them torturing Afton like that. I would think of other things. Watch other people."

"I can't just _not_ watch him," Alice whispered. "I'm so attuned to his future… I'm not sure that I _could_ stop seeing it, even if I wanted to stop."

Chelsea came and sat down next to her, slipping something hard and smooth into her hand. Looking down, Alice saw a glass bottle there. "Afton and I will take you out tonight, once the sun is setting," she explained quietly. "Master doesn't like how weak you're becoming. He's resigned himself to the fact you're going to be as stubborn as Carlisle was."

"And this?" Alice asked, just as the vision hit her.

She was kneeling next to a downed animal of some kind – a boar, maybe? – with the bottle held against a slit in its throat, watching the blood slowly fill the glass container. When it was almost filled to overflowing, she put the stopper in securely, putting the bottle inside her cloak. She could see two more bottles, already filled, hidden inside.

"Alec and Jane are leaving with Master and Renata tonight for Indonesia," Chelsea continued softly. "Nobody will stop you. Afton and I have made sure of that."

Alice looked at her. "Thank you."

Chelsea smiled slightly. "Just promise me you won't make a run for it," she said with a light laugh. "I was looking forward to a night alone with Afton."

*~*~*

At first, he was sure that he was imagining things. How could the door open and pain _not_ come? It just wasn't the way things worked.

"Who's there?" Margaret called out sharply as the slight glimmer of the candlelit corridors above cut out abruptly. There was no answer, and Margaret called out again, "Who's there?"

"Jasper…" came her whisper, soft as a light summer breeze in his ear. Her fingers touched his face, her lips found his and as he hungrily opened his mouth for her tongue to enter, he could taste the residual blood in her mouth. It wasn't large predator game, that much was certain, but he didn't imagine there was much in the way of predators in Italy. But still, it was there, and it was tormenting him, and he wanted – needed – every last drop.

He knew that if he were to do it right, he could access the blood she had consumed tonight. She would die in the process, regrettable, of course, but it would tame the –

God, had he just seriously contemplated killing his wife for blood?

"Alice…" he moaned, trying to stop his tongue from searching for any more blood that could possibly remain in her mouth.

"Shh, Jasper," she whispered, breaking their desperate kiss. "It's okay. You'll be all right…"

Moaning – oh, God, those few drops of blood were worse than he'd imagined – as he leaned back, he heard the sounds of… something. What, he couldn't imagine.

He'd smelled it just a millisecond before he heard Margaret let out a screech and Alice snarl protectively. There was a crash and he heard Alice's voice, darker and more dangerous than he'd ever heard before, growl, "This isn't for _you_."

Then she had settled in behind him, her fingers gently brushing back his hair from his face, resting his head against her shoulder as he felt the smooth, hard surface press against his burning lips. "Careful, Jazz," she whispered, the first blessed drop touching his lips. "We can't afford to waste it. It may be a while before I can come back."

It was cold, but did he care? It was blood. It was blood and it was life and it was sanity and it was _her_, holding him in her arms and nursing him like a sick child…

"Shh…" she soothed again, feeding him another mouthful. "I'm sorry it's cold. I'm sorry it's late. I'm sorry that it's not going to be enough. I'm sorry…"

When he felt he had regained sufficient control on his raging thirst to stop himself from killing her, Jasper reached for her head, pulling it down for him to kiss her again. "My God, I've missed you," he rasped.

He felt the smile on her lips as she replied softly, "I've missed you too."

"What made him change his mind?"

Alice laughed softly, delivering another mouthful of blood to him. "He took Alec and Jane out of the country."

"And nobody –"

"Nobody bothers you when you make allies out of the right people," Alice murmured. "God, I miss you…"

The flow of life sustenance trickled to a stop just then, and the little moan of panic escaped his throat. That couldn't be all of it. That wasn't anywhere _near_ enough, that was just torture, to give him so little when he needed so much… Why was she doing this to him, did she not love him anymore…

He heard Margaret moan from wherever it was Alice had thrown her, as a fresh whiff of blood infiltrated the catacombs, and Alice's body stiffened slightly behind him, her voice snarling again, "You'll feed tonight. This is for _him_." Then the bottle touched his lips again and he couldn't focus on anything but that, greedily trying to pull every last drop in as little time as possible.

"Slowly, Jasper, slowly," Alice whispered gently. "There's only one more after this." She pulled away the bottle slightly. "Swallow." Once he'd obeyed, she gave it back to him, stroking his cheek lightly with her hand. When that bottle emptied, she put the last one in its place.

The door opened again, in unison with Alice swearing and jumping into action. "God, they were supposed to be _gone_ for a week…" she muttered.

"Alice, they've just reached the walls of human Volterra," came a girl's call quietly. "You have maybe ten minutes."

"Thanks, Chelsea," Alice called back. "Jazz, can you hold that?" she asked urgently, closing his fingers around the glass bottle. Still swearing under her breath, she swept the empty ones back into her cloak, grabbing the last one as soon as it had been emptied. "I have to go. If Aro catches me down here…" She stopped, then swore again. "Crap!"

The door opened again just as she was delivering one last kiss to his lips.

"Margaret," a man's voice called commandingly.

"Yes?" she called in return.

"We need you to wipe some memories," he ordered swiftly, and Jasper could sense two more people, their panic well under control, entering. "Everything associated to Alice having been here. And quickly, please. Alice, you first."

"Go, darling," Jasper whispered to her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," she whispered.

*~*~*

"Alice, my dear, you're looking much better," Aro greeted with a smile.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you," Alice replied calmly, flanked on either side by Afton and Chelsea.

"And so what happened in Volterra while I was gone?" he asked Aro, looking at each of them in turn.

"Nothing, Master," Chelsea replied. "Everything was quiet."

"Truthfully, Chelsea?" Aro asked. "Nothing… specious?"

"You have only to touch me, Master, to know that I speak the truth," Chelsea replied, a frown of confusion on her face.

"Afton?" Aro continued, turning to the Emmett-sized man on the left of Alice.

"There's nothing to report, Master," Afton replied with a frown.

"Alice? No illicit escapades while I was gone?"

"No," Alice answered. "I was hoping that I might be allowed to have Jasper with me now –"

"There's no question of that, Alice," Aro cut her off swiftly. "Jasper is being punished. To let him go would be to undermine every ounce of deterrence those catacombs hold for other criminals. He stays there."

*~*~*

It was chaos within the walls of Volterra. It seemed to Alice as though the sun would never set, the other guards would never leave and she would never get the chance to have some peace and quiet to be alone with her thoughts.

Lying back on her bed (which still seemed pretty useless for somebody who didn't sleep and who had no mate with her), Alice stared at the stone ceiling above her, watching Alec and Jane giggle in dark amusement as Jasper cried out again.

Moaning, she curled herself into a tight ball, aching to go down and touch his face, to soothe and comfort him.

Almost six months, it had been like this. Daily, Alec and Jane would go into the catacombs, and they would drive him into near-insanity. Sometimes they would focus their attentions on the other prisoner – a woman, she couldn't see any more than that – and leave Jasper alone. Not often, though.

Six months with nothing to drink… he was in so much pain, Alice could barely stand to see him in her mind. He had become terribly weak, tremors racking his body –

"Don't watch him, then, if it hurts you," Chelsea's quiet voice came from the doorway. "I wouldn't want to watch them torturing Afton like that. I would think of other things. Watch other people."

"I can't just _not_ watch him," Alice whispered. "I'm so attuned to his future… I'm not sure that I _could_ stop seeing it, even if I wanted to stop."

Chelsea came and sat down next to her, slipping something hard and smooth into her hand. Looking down, Alice saw a glass bottle there. "Afton and I will take you out tonight, once the sun is setting," she explained quietly.

"And this?" Alice asked, just as the vision hit her.

She was kneeling next to a downed animal of some kind – a deer, maybe? – with the bottle held against a slit in its throat, watching the blood slowly fill the glass container. When it was almost filled to overflowing, she put the stopper in securely, putting the bottle inside her cloak. She could see two more bottles, already filled, hidden inside.

"Alec and Jane are leaving with Master tonight for Scotland," Chelsea continued softly. "Nobody will stop you. Afton and I have made sure of that."

Alice looked at her. "Thank you."

Chelsea smiled slightly. "Just promise me you won't make a run for it," she said with a light laugh. "I was looking forward to a night alone with Afton."

*~*~*

He recognized her scent before anything else. The most beautiful, most potent scent in the world to him… She was here.

"Jazz…" she whispered, just before he felt her trembling fingers touch his face. "I'm here." Her lips pressed hungrily against his, the comforting weight of her body settling against him.

He lacked the energy to even try and speak, though there was so much he wanted to tell her. And she tasted like the most delicious thing he'd ever had in his life. If he'd had the strength, he would've pulled her tight into his arms and made love to her right then – and damn the fact they had an audience. In fact, that was exactly what he was going to do the second he got even the tiniest bit of blood…

She laughed lightly, sending him a teasing moment of unbridled lust. Then he felt her hands remove her cloak from her shoulders, a faint clinking sound coming from within. In a matter of seconds, she had put the tip of a glass bottle against his lips, carefully tilting the smooth, cooled liquid into his mouth. "I'm sorry that it's cold," she whispered to him. "And you're still going to be thirsty when all of it is gone. I can't carry any more than this without somebody getting suspicious."

Forcing himself to stop drinking, Jasper pulled her head in, knowing instinctively when her lips had come within reach. "It's better than nothing," he murmured, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her skin hungrily. "Stop worrying about me."

"I can't…" she replied softly, her arms wrapping around his neck. "You're in every waking thought I have – and considering that I don't sleep, that's a lot of waking thoughts…"

"Lissy…" he soothed, smoothing down her hair. "I'm okay. Really. I don't want you caught off-guard because you're too distracted watching my uneventful days… Baby, you need your wits around you in Volterra."

Alice simply curved herself into his arms, head resting in the crook of his neck as she silently handed him another bottle of blood.


	4. Negotiations

**_Chapter 3: Negotiations_**

"Alice, if you would be so kind as to tell me how many there will be when we arrive –" Aro began to say, just as she growled in frustration and struck the wall angrily, leaving a pile of dust in the stones. "Please don't destroy Volterra, Alice. Did you hear my request?"

"Yes, and if Jasper wasn't being constantly tortured, I might be able to tell you," Alice snapped. "I can't focus on strangers' futures when his is so immediate and terrible. It doesn't help when I'm thirsty, either," she added pointedly.

"So if I were to order Alec and Jane to leave him alone, would that make it better?" Aro asked nonchalantly, even as both twins let out cries of betrayal. "Now, now, Jane, Alec, he is not the only person down there. You have others to play with."

'_Play_,' Alice thought derisively, as Jane answered their master sulkily.

"Only one…"

"Alice?" Aro repeated, looking over at her.

"His thirst interferes too," Alice said, going with the train of thought she'd been spinning for the last few minutes. "I really would be at my best if he was released, and we were permitted to hunt."

Aro's face darkened, as Marcus gave Alice a barely perceptible nod of approval from behind Aro's back. Chelsea brushed a light hand across Alice's arm as she passed in silent agreement, her face impassive. "You really have no place to make demands, Alice," Aro murmured.

"Then you know as well as I do that I can't help you," Alice replied simply, getting to her feet.

*~*~*

Now Alec and Jane were truly angry with her. And they were taking it out on Jasper, knowing that it would upset her.

Cringing, Alice curled into as tight a ball as she could manage, burying her face into her arms. Pain like a thousand newborns attacking her coursed through her veins as the visions struck her over and over again, and a furious snarl broke free of her tight lips, surprising her.

Irrational rage was beginning to boil inside of her, and she envisioned utterly destroying Alec and Jane with a certain degree of malicious pleasure.

Taking a deep breath, she remembered pressing herself against Jasper's tense body, whispering in his ear, _"Focus on me. I'm the only person in the world."_

It seemed to work for Jasper, to calm him, so the reverse could be true, couldn't it?

Alice closed her eyes, trying to bring up every little detail of her lover. The curls in his hair – she loved running her fingers through them, closing her hands around them as she kissed him. The faint dimple in his cheek. The sensation of his breath over her skin, his hands tracing light, sensual trails on her body. The whisper of his voice in her ear, with its faint injection of centuries long past and southern charm…

The sound of his screams as Jane hit him with another jolt.

It brought her out of her self-induced trance with a violent shriek, and Alice had ripped the top half of one post from the bed frame and thrown it across the room before she realized what she was doing. The poster shattered into slivers as it struck the wall, leaving a messy hole where it hit. Continuing her ferocious tantrum, she'd managed to destroy the entire chamber within minutes, grabbing the last remaining intact item: the lit torch.

Marcus had appeared in her doorway in a flash. "Alice?" he questioned, eyes taking in the destruction and widening as he saw the torch in her hand. "Alice, calm yourself. Do not act rashly, it will not help…"

"He won't listen to me," Alice spat angrily. "But he'll listen to you. Get my husband out of those catacombs right now, or I _swear_ I will put this hellhole up in flames."

"Alice, I understand your anger. Honestly, I do," Marcus said slowly, advancing towards her cautiously. "We will speak in the evening, Aro and I and yourself. Do not do something you will regret. Give me the torch."

Afton and Chelsea materialized on either side of Marcus, shock on their faces. "Alice…" Chelsea warned softly. "Don't do it."

"I am _not_ waiting for evening," Alice growled. "You find Aro. You tell him to release Jasper within five minutes, or I will _burn_ this place and everybody in it to ashes."

"Afton, tell Alec and Jane to leave the catacombs this instant," Marcus ordered quietly. "Chelsea, find Aro and pass along Alice's message." Both guards disappeared down opposite ends of the hallway, and Marcus stepped forward again. "Alice…" he cajoled gently. "Alice, I am on your side. Give me the torch. You do not want to do this. It would disappoint Carlisle."

"No," Alice said stubbornly, grip tightening on the torch. "Not until I have Jasper."

"Alice, think of your coven," Marcus repeated. "Would they want you to do such a senseless act of murder?"

"Alice," Chelsea said frantically as she flew back into the room, "Master is bringing him now. Give Master Marcus the torch, _please_."

"You see, Alice," Marcus said simply, holding out his hand. "You can see it."

And finally, Alice relinquished her weapon, crumpling to the floor in tearless sobs of emotional pain. Within two minutes, an agonizingly long two minutes, she felt familiar muscled arms wrap around her, pulling her into a familiar chest.

"Shh, Alice, enough," he whispered gently. "I'm here. I'm here now. Calm down… calm down…"

Aro's cold voice interrupted. "You know the new agreement. Bring her."

Jasper's careful arms lifted her easily, and Alice buried her face into his neck, trying to stop her sobs. He nuzzled his cheek against hers briefly, and she registered the feeling of movement. They were going somewhere, but where?

In her mind, she saw the chambers in the furthest corridor – the smallest of them, the one that no guard would take due to its distance from the pavilion and the exit. So Aro was taking away the spacious chambers she had received all those months ago. He was in effect exiling her from favour – a small price to pay.

She felt Jasper set her down on the bed, his body quickly settling in behind her.

"I trust you'll explain the new arrangements to her in a timely fashion?" Aro's voice asked coolly.

"Yes," Jasper replied shortly, brushing his fingers against her cheek. "I'll send her when she's calm enough to be among the other guards."

The sounds of the door beginning to close met her ears, and she spoke a single word, called to Aro in a shaky, grateful voice. "Twenty-five."

"What was that?" Aro asked. "Please look at me when you're speaking to me, Alice."

Alice turned around to look at him, Jasper's arm tightening around her waist. "Twenty-five. That's how many are waiting in Sudan."

Aro smiled slightly, a false, cruel smile. "Thank you, Alice." He closed the door and within seconds, Jasper had started running a bath in the bathroom and was disrobing them both.

"Ally, Ally, Ally," he crooned into her ear. "Everything's okay…" He lowered her into the waiting water, sliding in after her.

As his eyes met hers, she realized something terrible.

Jasper never called her Ally.

*~*~*

"Keep him contained, Alec," Aro ordered briskly.

Alec nodded, sitting cross-legged up on his ledge, Jane leaning against him comfortably as they watched Jasper snarling angrily at them.

"Let me go!" Jasper spat, hissing at Jane when she shot a dose of pain at him. "I know you're doing something to her," he growled at Aro. "I can sense it. You're playing with fire – I don't have a clue what would set the _endemoniado_ off and none of your guard is even mildly prepared to deal with that!"

"Alec, take away his voice, please," Aro said calmly. "That's going to get irritating very fast."

Abruptly, Jasper's voice cut out, just in time to hear Alice's screams of rage far away. In his mind, he smirked. Of course Alice would know that it wasn't really him. That ridiculous ruse would never work.

"Jane, go find Renata," Aro continued swiftly. "You go with her and see what's happening." Jane lightly jumped to her feet and disappeared upstairs.

*~*~*

The longer she thought about it, the angrier she got. Both with herself and with whatever guard had agreed to this charade. Probably Anthony.

How could she have been so stupid, to think that a temper tantrum would convince Aro? And so easily taken in by this… imposter. The more she thought about it, the obvious it seemed.

The voice was slightly off. The hair was the wrong shade of blond, the curls too tight. The eyes were bright red – how they had missed such a major marker, she had no idea. The skin was too smooth – they had forgotten about his scars. He had lifted her without effort, when he should've been weakened by time and thirst. They had completely missed the boat on his affections.

Jasper _never_ called her Ally.

Another furious shriek escaped, and she threw another object at the imposter without looking at it.

"What the hell?" he demanded, dodging the projectile.

"Get _out_!" Ugh! She had been about to let this jerk take her!

*~*~*

The door to the catacombs opened and Marcus descended the steps. "Alec, release him," he said quietly. "That is an order."

"Marcus," Aro began to protest.

"We will discuss this later, Aro," Marcus replied, catching Jasper by the arm as he jumped unsteadily to his feet. There was now crashes accompanying Alice's screaming, and the sound was very distressing to him. "I would prefer Volterra to remain in one piece at the moment."

Caius' voice echoed down. "I am in agreement with Marcus. Aro, we cannot allow her to continue raging like this. She will bring down Volterra. Let her have her mate."

Aro cast an unquestioningly furious glare at his brothers, but stepped aside to let Marcus and Jasper pass.

Once they had exited the catacombs, Jasper winced at the bombardment of emotions in the area. Most of the guard were concerned – probably over Alice's violent fit – and beyond even that, Alice's rage was far more powerful than he'd ever felt her experience before.

"Try to calm her down quickly," Marcus murmured quietly, still supporting Jasper somewhat by one arm. "She will not listen to reason, and after what Aro tried to do, I do not blame her. But even I will not stand for her to continue like this for long."

Cautiously, Jasper tried to send calm and comfort ahead of him, hoping to reassure her that he was coming. But it wasn't as powerful, wasn't as far-reaching as it would've been if he'd have been at full strength, and if he hadn't been riddled with anxiety over her.

"Alice, _please_…" he heard one of the younger guards – Chelsea, maybe? – plead. "Calm down. It isn't doing any good to keep getting angry."

"Chelsea, let us pass," Marcus said simply, lightly pushing aside the teenage guard. "Alice." When Alice didn't respond to him, he pushed Jasper inside. "Anthony, come," he said commandingly, and the very bad impersonation melted away from the guard, revealing a young man who looked absolutely nothing like Jasper. The guard gladly bolted for the door without a second glance, leaving Jasper alone with Alice.

Even throwing fits and raving like a madman, she was the most beautiful person in the world. He was momentarily struck dumb by her very presence, before she whirled around to whip something at him.

Instincts kicked in, and Jasper managed to snag the wrought iron wall hanging before it struck him, throwing it to the side. "Alice, stop," he ordered gently.

She froze, staring at him in disbelief. Then, as distress took over for rage, she began to sink to the ground. Within seconds, Jasper had reached her, burying his face into her neck as he tried to feed her as much positive emotion that his little remaining energy would allow.

The imposter hadn't managed to get too far before she'd realized it, he acknowledged with a sigh of relief. Her intrinsic scent was still unpolluted by somebody, anybody else.

"Alice, calm down," he whispered, kissing her neck hungrily. The shock still seemed to be pervading her system. Either that or she was still trying to decide if he was the real thing. "Lissy…"

That seemed to do the trick, because she threw herself headlong into a desperate, passionate kiss, tackling him to the ground. Slightly dazed by her intoxicating taste, Jasper let her control the length of the kiss, arms sliding around her to hold her close.

"Jazz…" she whispered, awe in her voice. "Are you really here?"

"Just as much as you are," he whispered in reply, smiling as her fingers traced the contours of his face. "Are you going to throw things at me again?"

"I'm sorry," she said immediately, contritely. "I was slightly upset. Did I hurt you?" Worriedly, her attention went to closer inspection of his face.

"No, you didn't," Jasper replied, kissing her fingertips. "You've just never thrown things at me before. It was very disconcerting."

"People have never tried to impersonate you before," she answered softly. "It was very distressing."

*~*~*

Their conversation had dropped down into the lower decibels they were accustomed to, though nobody remained in the area to hear them anyway. Almost a full year apart had built up an extraordinary amount of discussion topics, and no small amount of unresolved physical desires.

Jasper had propped himself up on one elbow beneath the blankets, reaching to trail gentle fingers across her skin as she lay beside him.

"You're very thirsty," she whispered, looking into his eyes in concern. "Are you hurting?" she asked softly, reaching to touch his throat lightly.

_Was_ he hurting? The burning seemed minor, oh so minor, now that she was here. The scalding pain of thirst seemed manageable, but maybe his senses had just faded.

"Don't worry about me," he murmured. "I'm fine now that I have you." Leaning down, he laid a deep kiss against her lips, gently working his way into her mouth. She moaned softly, arms wrapping around his neck. "I love you, baby," he breathed into her lips.

"I love you, too," she said regretfully as she pulled away and quickly began redressing, "but we're about to be interrupted."

Grumbling under his breath, Jasper pulled on his discarded clothes and followed Alice into the bathroom, wrapping his arms around her waist and watching as she quickly washed her face and ran a brush through her hair. "Who's coming?" he asked, a mild plaintive tone to his voice.

Alice paused for a minute. Then she answered, "Renata." Sighing, she nestled down against his side as he stretched out on the bed again, her head resting on his stomach. "Aro wants to speak with us."


	5. Readjustments

**_Chapter 4: Readjustments_**

"Alice," Aro greeted curtly as they entered the pavilion, Jasper still hovering protectively at her side. "I hope your childish fits are done. They really are most unbecoming, not to mention inconvenient and extremely aggravating."

"Yes, sir," Alice replied simply. She put one subtle hand behind her, resting it lightly against Jasper's thigh to stop him when he began to step in front of her. "Renata said you wanted to see us?"

"I merely wanted to be sure you were ready to leave for Sudan tonight," Aro replied. Jasper tensed behind her. "Your little temper tantrum has thrown off our schedule."

"We're still leaving just before sundown, aren't we?" Alice asked calmly.

"As I was saying, your little display has thrown off our schedule," Aro repeated. "Chelsea and Afton still need to feed. In order to keep good time tonight, we no longer can afford to let you hunt along the way."

Alice tightened her grip on the denim, warning Jasper not to rise as the slightest hint of a growl began to escape. "Okay," she said. "We'll be arriving early in any case, we can hunt in Sudan."

Jasper paused, and she could feel his eyes focusing on her.

"I'm sorry, Alice, did you think that he would be coming with you?" Aro asked coolly. "Jasper will be staying behind here with F–"

"Master, if I may?" Chelsea spoke up suddenly.

"Yes, Chelsea?" Aro asked, a trace of irritation in his voice.

"Felix isn't due to feed again for another week," Chelsea said, obviously choosing her words with great care. "I'm not sure that it would be advisable to leave the two of them alone with only Anthony and Sulpicia and Athenodora."

"I wouldn't," Alice added simply. "Not if you'd prefer Volterra to still be standing when we return."

Aro sighed, with the irritation now very plain. "Alice, come show me what you mean."

Alice stepped forward, despite the small noise of protest from Jasper as she distanced herself from his protective presence. As she approached Aro, she could sense every eye in Volterra watching her – from Jasper's anxious gaze behind her to Jane's sulky glower at Aro's right-hand side.

Aro didn't reach out to her – clearly, he was through putting himself out for her. As a result, Alice was forced to come and reach out her own hand to him. With a dark glance in Jasper's direction, as if daring him to do something, Aro grabbed her hand with much more force than necessary.

Alice winced but held steady, keeping her eyes closed as she watched the visions skittering through her mind, trying to decipher Aro's decision.

He wouldn't leave Jasper behind with only Anthony – that was murder waiting to happen, with Anthony's actions over the past 24 hours, and Aro still considered Anthony's gifts of disguise much too important to sacrifice him. He wouldn't let Jasper stay alone – it was begging for him to escape. He wouldn't leave any of the other guards behind – they would need all of them in Sudan, and Felix was the only other one he could spare. He couldn't leave Felix and Jasper alone.

She didn't see how he had any other choice but taking Jasper with them.

Aro finally took his hand away and said, "It's a wonder that you function with all those visions running through your mind at once. Very well." It was clearly a dismissal.

Quietly, Alice said, "Thank you," and retreated back to Jasper's side, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as she felt him relax.

*~*~*

"Alice, we need to go back," Jasper reminded her, reluctantly fitting the light grey cloak of the 'outer guard' around his shoulders again – it had gotten in the way of his hunting. "You know Aro won't like it if we're gone too long. He's mad enough as it is, let's not play with fire."

Alice grumbled under her breath as she finished off her downed antelope.

"Not as impressive as my lion, I have to say," came a familiar teasing voice from up in the nearby tree. "But commendable still the same, considering that thing is still twice your size."

Jasper looked up in surprise to see Emmett perched in one of the high branches, Rosalie resting back against him comfortably. Both of them dropped to the ground, and there was a barely perceptible wince from Rosalie as she took in the cloaks.

Alice's face lit up as she jumped to her feet and hugged them both. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked. "Is everybody else here?"

"Nope, just us," Emmett replied easily. "Decided it was time for another honeymoon."

"Bad place for it, though," Jasper commented quietly, pulling Alice back gently by her charcoal cloak – the dark grey reserved for Aro's most elite, the 'inner guards'. "I'd stay out of northeast Africa for a while."

"Yeah, we saw the other guards arriving with the Volturi," Rosalie said. "What's going on?"

"One of the African nomads has created an army they can no longer control," Jasper replied. "They think the Romanians might be involved."

"Jasper, we need to go," Alice said softly. "They're going to want updates…"

"Go on ahead," he murmured. "They want to talk to you, not to me." Alice hesitated, looking at him uncertainly. "I'll be right behind you," he reassured her.

Once Alice had disappeared from view, he turned back to Emmett and Rosalie. "How's everybody holding up?" he asked quietly. "And tell me the truth, please."

Rosalie sighed. "We all miss you. Esme still cries. Edward's still mad at Alice. Carlisle's been wanting to come out to Volterra to check on you guys."

"It's just… not the same without you," Emmett said with a slight, self-conscious shrug. "We Cullens don't deal well with change."

"The others are going to want to know if everything's all right," Rosalie interjected. "Esme begged us to stop in Volterra before we came home. _Are_ you okay? You don't look so good…"

Jasper cast another glance behind him. He could see Alice waiting in the distance, a familiar, nervous bounce to her position. She didn't want to go back without him, lest Aro think he tried escaping, but they couldn't stay away much longer, lest Aro think that they both took off… "I'm fine, Rose," he replied quickly. "Listen, we've got to go, the Volturi are waiting on Alice to give them more information..."

"All right," Rosalie ceded reluctantly. "Try to see if you can get them to let you guys come back to the States soon. We're in Colorado…"

"I doubt that's going to happen," Jasper told her frankly. "We're somewhat of a flight risk."

*~*~*

As if they thought he wouldn't notice them stalking behind him all the way back to the Volturi's camp.

Rosalie and Emmett stopped just before the tree line, however, and Jasper and Alice broke through.

"Alice!" Aro's voice was sharp, laced with anger.

Jasper gave her a gentle push forward towards the small knot of 'inner guards' with the three ancient Volturi, melting back into the ranks of the 'unimportant' guards beside Afton, who was watching Demetri carefully.

"Keep an eye on Demetri," Afton muttered quietly. "He and Felix are the real problems among the inner guards. They don't understand the concept of 'off-limits', but if they know we're watching them…" He trailed off. "They've learned to leave Chelsea alone – I'm _always_ watching them." He tapped his temple lightly.

Fixing his gaze on the tracker, Jasper listened to the strategies being put forth, the military part of his mind analyzing the data. Aro had his fingertips at Alice's temple, watching the visions as they came to her. Though her face was carefully absent of any outward emotion, Jasper could sense the irritation as clearly as if she were standing right in front of him. She didn't like Aro's lack of trust, nor did she appreciate being used as a receptor.

Demetri seemed to be the offensive strategist in the group – though his plans bordered on the side of rash stupidity, they were somewhat feasible. Chelsea seemed to be the defensive strategist – she was very good at it. Jane and Alec, he was sure, were simply too used to instant victory to need much strategy to their methods – they merely needed Aro's word to act. Renata and Alice were clearly not intended for any participation beyond their powers – both were silent during the discussion.

This reassured Jasper somewhat. Aro may have been immeasurably angry with Alice over that little display of wild rage, but he wouldn't put her in any unnecessary danger. She would be as well-protected as Renata.

He frowned as Aro began to pull together the plan, taking into account far too many of Alice's small, not-necessarily-connected visions – what they called 'errant flashes' in their family – to be safe.

"What the hell?" Afton muttered in bewilderment. "That's a terrible plan."

"Aro should _know_ just how bad it is to rely on Alice's visions… they're not always concrete. And even the concrete ones can change…" Jasper muttered. "He's using too much of her errant flashes as fact. He's going to get us all killed."

"Why doesn't Alice speak up?" Afton growled. "Or is he just not listening?"

"She can't speak up," Jasper replied grimly, sending a wave of calm to his wife as she met his gaze, torment in her eyes. "None of you can understand. You're all here voluntarily. If she goes against Aro… he'll kill me."

There was a soft hiss from the cover of the trees – it sounded like it might've been Rosalie.

The other guards in their area overheard their conversation, and began murmuring amongst themselves.

"Silence!" Caius called sharply. The guard fell silent. "Afton, Jasper, forward."

"Let me do the talking. You're on shaky enough ground," Afton muttered almost inaudibly. Jasper nodded slightly as they stepped out of the anonymous collectivity.

"Do you have something you'd like to put forth?" Caius asked pointedly.

"I was merely saying to Jasper that there are some worrisome problems in the plan," Afton said swiftly. "I can now assure you that the Romanians have nothing to do with the situation at hand. However –"

Aro cut him off at that point. "Thank you for that information, Afton. You are dismissed. Jasper, would you enumerate the issues and a proposal on fixing them?" He removed his touch from Alice's temple, causing an imperceptible relaxation in her muscles. "Come. Join us."

Forcing himself to stay calm, Jasper advanced and took his place, putting himself between Alice and Demetri casually.

*~*~*

Alice tucked herself tightly beneath his arm as the guard stopped at daybreak, taking refuge in a collection of coastal caves. They would reach Volterra by daybreak tomorrow. But Aro clearly had no intention of letting her relax her overworked mind.

"Alice, Afton," Aro called simply; he didn't need to say more than their names.

Afton grumbled something incoherent and disgruntled under his breath, as Chelsea sat up reluctantly. Alice sighed and untangled herself from Jasper's hold, waiting patiently for the light kiss she knew was coming.

Jasper delivered her self-fulfilling prophecy obligingly, lingering for a few moments over her lips.

"Alice," Afton muttered warningly when Alice made as though to ignore Aro and snuggle deep into her husband's arms again. "Alice, pick your battles. This one isn't worth it…"

"Go," Jasper murmured. "It won't take him long to realize it."

"Realize what?" Chelsea asked curiously as Afton and Alice joined Aro at the far end of the cavern.

"He's overworked her," Jasper murmured. "Made her do too much at once. Anything she sees over the next little while is going to be next to useless if it's any more serious than what she's going to wear." He watched his wife worriedly as she sank down to the ledge, closing her eyes and rubbing at her temples.

"Oh," Chelsea said simply as she watched her mate speak quietly to Aro. "It happens to Afton sometimes, too. Probably not to the extent that Alice gets, I imagine… But if he's trying to watch too much at once, he can get those headaches. It mangles his visions something terrible."

"What exactly does Afton do?" Jasper asked. Aro seemed to have decided to ignore Afton's words, his attention focused on Alice. Reaching out, Aro closed his hand around her wrist, yanking her hand away from her forehead roughly and watching the visions going through her mind. A low growl escaped from Jasper's mouth before he could stop it, hand clenching into a fist.

"It's something similar to what Alice does," Chelsea replied quietly. "Master doesn't appreciate it as much as he should, because he prefers what Alice sees. Alice sees visions of the futures that may happen; Afton sees the present as it's happening right now. He was an acceptable substitute for Alice, when Master didn't have her. But by the time Afton sees something, it's too late to do anything to prevent it."

"So when Afton said he's always watching Felix and Demetri…" Jasper said slowly.

Chelsea smiled slightly. "He always has one corner of his mind keeping tabs on them. They tried to catch me alone once in Volterra – they're not going to try that again. Afton can be quite fear-inducing, even to Felix." She laughed for a moment and then sobered. "I don't think they'll try anything with Alice as long you're around. Believe it or not, they're terrified of you. You might actually strike more fear into their souls than Alec, Jane and all three masters put together."

"They're terrified of me?" Jasper asked skeptically.

"They saw what those _endemoniado_ are like in Mexico," Chelsea explained. "The fact you survived them, that you could _control_ them… to them, it means that you're far more powerful."

"_Well, go then!"_ Aro's angry snap echoed across the cavern, and Jasper and Chelsea's conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Afton and Alice returned to them within a matter of minutes, Alice sinking desperately back into Jasper's waiting arms. She was aching, she was upset. It worried her that Aro was mad at her. Too much of Jasper's life hung on Aro's mood.

"Stop worrying," Jasper soothed softly, stroking her cheek lightly as she laid her head against his chest. "It's only going to aggravate your headache." Alice's eyes closed and her emotions seemed to drift off into faint tenors, easing seamlessly from one to the other and onto the next. It was disturbingly close to the way Nessie and Jacob's emotions drifted as they were sleeping. "Alice, what are you doing?" he asked with a twinge of concern.

"I'm meditating, leave me alone," she murmured, nestling in closer.

"You're meditating?"

"Yes. It's almost like sleep – not that I remember what that's like. But I imagine sleep felt something like this. I repeat, leave me alone."

"All right," Jasper replied with an affectionate shrug, settling back against the wall. Afton grinned at him again.

"It works wonders on the headaches," he murmured as Chelsea settled her head down in Afton's lap again. "I don't think it worked half as well for her when you weren't around, though."

"Mmm, don't stop doing that," Alice sighed faintly, as Jasper dropped his fingers from her face in order to distract her as little as possible. Smiling, he returned to stroking her cheek, watching her face slowly smooth out from its pained frown.


	6. A Family Visit

A/N: For everybody who's been commenting and asking: Yes, I will get back to Margaret. I have plans for Margaret and Jasper. And I've had a few people say that it was good to see the development of the guards as individuals instead of a collective.

Truth be told, I have a thing for secondary (like the other Cullens) and tertiary (like the guards or the Denalis) characters. You will probably never see me write an Edward-Bella because they've already got the equivalent of, like, six books written on them. I've always been curious about the stories of the guards and the Denalis in particular – this is giving me a chance to feel out the market for a Volturi story.

Seems like a demand is there – anybody want a more in-depth look at life in Volterra, and how everybody ended up there?

**_Chapter 5: A Family Visit_**

It was still just another quiet, uneventful day in Volterra. Most of the guards were off in the world pursuing the leisure of their choice: Felix and Demetri, they'd heard, had opted to travel back to Greece, visiting old companions from their days prior to joining the guard; Chelsea and Afton had gone off on a serious hunt for the Titanic and any old relics of Afton's that might've still remained at the bottom of the ocean. Various other guards had simply gone away to travel for a while.

The only people left behind, really, were the Volturi brothers, their wives, the three young guards who couldn't bear to be separated from Aro for any reason other than duty – Alec, Jane and Renata – and Jasper and Alice.

They were still confined to Volterra, as they would probably be for the rest of their existence, Jasper thought wryly as he leaned back against the headboard of their bed, watching Alice stare blankly at the wall.

"Did Emmett and Rosalie mention where the family was living now?" Alice asked wistfully, eyes drifting off into another vision. "In Sudan, when you were talking to them?"

"Colorado, I think," Jasper replied. "Sweetheart, you know he's not going to let us go." He reached out to brush back a lock of her hair. "There's no point getting yourself all worked up over it."

Sighing, Alice settled down in his arms, closing her eyes. Slowly, she began drift back into her now-familiar meditative trance.

"You have a headache?" Jasper questioned.

Alice shook her head slightly. "Just taking advantage of the peace and quiet," she murmured.

Smiling, he settled in for the long term. He loved watching her like this – it reminded him so much of the crystal-clear human memories of holding his little sister in his arms, rocking her to sleep. Of the way he would wake up in the mornings and usually find her nestled in beside him, careless curls thrown around the pillow and her thumb in her mouth. The sight of her drowsy caramel eyes opening as she whispered innocently, _"Bad dream'd, Japper."_

Wincing as the good memories brought with them their constant companions, Jasper tried to stop the train of thought to no avail.

_Jasper ignored the whispers when he passed through Houston. Doubtlessly, some of the women in the area had recognized him. Nudging his mount on just a little faster, he headed for the family estate, just outside the city. He only had a week of leave, and he wanted to be home in time for Celia's birthday. He doubted that Mother even remembered the general season her daughter had been born in – she certainly didn't remember _his_ – and Celia deserved at least one small recognition for turning four._

_He fingered the small parcel in his jacket pocket, thinking of the way her face would light up at receiving it. Trying not to think of how he'd come by the material, he smiled slightly. He would owe Emmaline, the cavalry's laundress, for a long time for her help. The young widow, touched by his 'kind heart', had spent many nights stitching together the pretty little doll's cape, keeping it safe from the dust and grime of the camp and creating a beautiful piece of clothing for Celia's precious Baby._

_But as he came up the road, he realized something was wrong. There was the faint, acrid smell of burnt wood in the air. Silence. Dead silence. Like the expansive plantation just north of San Antonio that the Union had burnt to the ground last month._

_Oh, God, no._

_Forcing his horse into a full-out run, Jasper prayed as hard as he dared that it wasn't true. How could it be true? There had been brigades patrolling the major roads to Houston for months! There was no way enough Yankees passed through to do that sort of damage._

_And Celia – were they cruel enough to slaughter such an innocent little girl? It took some sort of cold-hearted devil to kill a child._

_His heart let out the scream he couldn't yet vocalize as he reached where the estate should've stood, and saw the charred wreckage. Slowly, he dismounted, still not believing his eyes. There was nothing left. Absolutely nothing. Then he saw the smallest, tiny hand lying just inside where the front door ought to have been. Advancing, Jasper carefully took the hand and tugged out the brutalized, smoky, incinerated remains of Celia's most prized possession – Baby._

_He let the pain overtake him._

"Jasper." An anxious voice interrupted his memory. "Jasper, what's wrong? Jasper…" Frantically, fingers traced the outlines of his frozen face, lips desperately trying to solicit some sort of response as they pressed against his skin.

He realized with a start that he was so tense he might've been a statue. Centuries of learning to internalize the pain had stopped him from screaming as he had that terrible day, but he could feel the scream still roaring inside of him like a monstrous beast, waiting to consume him again.

Jane had absolutely nothing on this.

"Jasper, _please_…" the voice broke, frightened butterscotch, red-tinted eyes trying to dig into his.

Alice. He was scaring Alice. She'd never seen him lose control like this before.

Trying to force the enormous grief back down into its tightly-contained box, Jasper took a deep, shuddering breath as he pulled Alice tight against his chest, inhaling the comfort in her scent as he tried to turn all of his attention back to her.

Alice. AliceAliceAliceAlice… the world was Alice and Alice was the world. Alice was fine, Alice was perfectly okay, she wasn't hurt, she wasn't lying burnt to ashes in the ground, she was _there_, in his arms and she was perfect…

Slowly, ever so slowly, the tidal wave of pain began to subside, retreating to its tiny prison where it had lain dormant. But still, it snarled at him threateningly, promising to resurface someday soon, when Alice was gone, as it usually attempted when he was alone. Never this bad. Never since Alice. It hadn't overtaken him like this since he'd left Peter and Charlotte in 1948.

"Shh, Jasper, it's okay…" she soothed with barely-restrained fear, stroking his face gently as her hand trembled slightly. "It's okay, I'm here… Calm down, baby, calm down… Shh, Jazz… I'm here…"

He flinched at the imagined, tortured screams of his perfect little Celia, burying his face into Alice's neck as he tried to stop the shivers from wracking his body. The pain came back with a furious roar, triumphant.

"Jasper, you're scaring me," she whispered. "What's wrong? Just tell me what's wrong."

_He was standing at the edge of the steep canyon, watching the pebbles crumble away and fall into the Pecos. He watched it fall until he couldn't see it anymore, even though he knew they must've reached the water eventually._

_He wondered if it would hurt, falling all those feet – it must be hundreds of feet to the river below. Would he crash against the walls of the canyon? Would he feel the sting of the water as he sank? Would it be painful to die like that? It would take time, that was for sure. Because that was what he deserved. He deserved to die an even worse death than the way they slowly burned his precious Celia alive. She had probably died clawing at the door, clinging to Baby, screaming, crying for him…_

"Jasper, _please_," Alice repeated in terror.

There was no escaping that beast now, he conceded with a final tremor as he let it drown him as it had in 1861.

But just as he was disappearing into the dark abyss, he registered a sudden, metallic-like screech and enormous physical pain, jolting him from the emotional and psychological pain.

Alice had let out a startled scream. Instinctively whirling around to see who had scared her, Jasper felt off-balance, somehow, and he realized with a sickening drop of his stomach that he was missing an arm.

"You back in _this_ reality now?" Edward asked frankly, his eyes soft with sympathy as he held out Jasper's detached arm.

Jasper took the arm without a word and held it in place, feeling Alice's quivering hands close around fistfuls of his shirt, her forehead resting between his shoulder blades. _Thank you_, he thought simply, releasing his arm when it had fused back into its socket. Then, he turned and pulled Alice into his lap, rocking her comfortingly as he whispered over and over again, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

"Don't scare me like that," she whispered shakily. "I can't handle that."

No, of course she couldn't handle his pain. Nobody could handle this pain. Nobody capable of loving again would've _survived _that pain. Anybody _worth_ loving in the first place would've thrown themselves off that canyon cliff that day, instead of allowing themselves to be talked down from the ledge…

"_Whitlock, come back down," First Lieutenant Thomas called bracingly. "Throwing yourself off the cliff is not going to bring back that baby girl. Come back down and we will make sure the goddamn Yankees pay. She needs to be avenged, Whitlock. Come back down."_

_Revenge. Yes. That sounded good. As the rage coursed through his veins, Jasper stepped away from the edge. Revenge. He would kill as many goddamn Yankees as he could fire a rifle at, as many as he could strangle with his bare hands…_

_They'd killed Celia._

"Jasper," Edward warned softly as he felt the monster he'd once been growl from deep inside. "Don't go there."

"What the hell was that, Jasper?" Emmett's voice came from behind him, his tone incredulous.

Jasper kept his mouth firmly shut, not trusting himself to speak beyond nonstop whispers of apology to Alice.

"Bad memories," Edward replied for him.

"Must've been something horrible in those memories," Rosalie commented softly; with a start, Jasper realized that the entire family was there.

Everybody in the family had seen him lose it like that.

"The worst I have," Jasper muttered, as Alice took a deep breath and looked at him again, the strain of fear still showing. She traced her fingers along the contours of his face, promising softly,

"Later. You and I are going to talk."

"When did you guys get here?" Jasper asked the rest of the family, settling Alice comfortably in his arms. He was calming the longer she was tucked safely there, her head resting against his arm and her hands closing around his forearms.

"About the time Alice started screaming in terror," Emmett said dryly.

"We were starting to worry when it was more than two years, and you hadn't come to visit," Esme added, sitting down on the edge of the bed to touch his cheek. "Rosalie and Emmett said that they'd run into you in Africa, but…"

"We've been… occupied," Jasper replied vaguely, seeing the concern in her eyes.

Alec and Jane appeared in the doorway just as Carlisle was commenting, "Yes, I suppose Aro's been keeping you pretty busy."

"Yes?" Alice asked of the twins curtly. Even Edward looked taken aback with the rest of the family at the tone in her voice.

"Master requests your presence in the pavilion," Alec relayed, a dark edge of sullenness in his voice. Jane cast a seething glare in their direction, a perfect pout on her face.

"Very well," Alice replied shortly, sitting up. Alec and Jane didn't leave, however – obviously, Jasper noted, they'd been instructed to wait for her. Twisting around, Alice laid a light kiss on his cheek, her hand still shaking the slightest bit on his other cheek. "I'll be back soon," she promised as she got to her feet. Then she swept out ahead of Alec and Jane, the preteen twins following in dark silence.

"I've never seen Alec and Jane look so murderous," Carlisle commented quietly.

"They're not happy about being ordered not to touch Jasper," Edward replied, eyes fixing on his silent brother. "Why have they been ordered not to?" he asked Jasper. "Why was that necessary?"

Jasper sighed. "Aro had me in the catacombs for the first year. Alice threw a fit to get me out of there. Afton and Chelsea tell me she threatened to burn down Volterra, to the point of having a lit torch in her hand, if Aro didn't release me." Pausing, he frowned darkly as he thought back to the events of that day, the memories blurred by his extreme thirst. "He tried deceiving her first, and she freaked out."

"How do you _deceive _Alice?" Bella asked.

"One of the newer guards at the time had the ability to disguise himself," Jasper replied. "Aro had him try and pass himself off as me. It really wasn't a very good job, Alice saw right through him. Poor kid had to leave the guard after that, he couldn't be in the same country as Alice without hyperventilating." Despite the severity of the conversation topic, Jasper couldn't stop the smug grin from crossing his face. "Marcus and Caius overrode Aro's authority. Apparently they were somewhat concerned for Volterra's continued physical stability."

"Alice _can_ be extremely terrifying," Emmett admitted with an affectionate grin.

"But Alec and Jane aren't very happy with the new arrangements," Jasper continued. "I think they were getting a little bored with Margaret when I arrived there."

"Margaret being…" Edward prompted.

"She's the other prisoner," Jasper explained. "Been down there long enough that their torture methods just don't mean anything anymore."

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked warily.

"Well," Jasper sighed. "If you go long enough in that sort of pain and thirst, you stop reacting. It's not that you don't feel the pain, it's that you can't work up the energy to scream or twitch or do anything except lie there and take it."

Bella shuddered.

*~*~*

When Alice came back, she was accompanied by Santiago, Felix and Demetri – evidently, the guard had all started to return to Volterra.

Edward's eyes narrowed in the three guards' directions in conjunction with Jasper's slight protective snarl. Alice seemed unharmed and unshaken, however, as she retreated back into Jasper's arms and nestled her forehead against the curve of his neck.

"Has Aro become so paranoid, then?" Edward asked quietly, the question directed towards the three men at the doorway. "That it takes three of you to make sure that Alice gets back? It seems a little excessive to me."

"That's not what he's worried about," Jasper muttered.

"What, then?" Carlisle asked.

"Master says it is time for you to take your leave," Santiago cut in swiftly. "The sun is setting." His bright crimson eyes passed over each of the Cullens in turn. "He asks that you refrain from coming unannounced in the future."

"It would have been terrible for you to have come all this way, if Jasper," Felix's voice twisted very slightly in disgust on his name, "and Alice had been away from the city."

"Yes, I suppose it would've been," Carlisle agreed, a tone of growing concern in his voice.

"Oh, Carlisle, do we really have to leave so soon?" Esme begged, her hand caressing Alice's cheek for a moment. "We've only just gotten here. We've hardly even seen Alice…" As she twisted around to look at her husband pleadingly, her expression became anguished as she saw the resignation in his eyes. "Please, Carlisle," she repeated. "Just a few more days…"

"You'd best leave now, Esme," Jasper told her quietly. Looking over at the other guards, he said firmly, "Alice and I will accompany them to the city limits." His tone left no room for argument, though Demetri did.

"Chelsea and Afton are waiting at the exit to show them outside the city," he answered bluntly. "_We_ will take them there."

*~*~*

There was an apologetic shrug and sigh from both Chelsea and Afton as the Cullens exited the Volturi compound. "Sorry that you couldn't get longer," Chelsea murmured, closing the doors in the other guards' faces. "You're lucky you got that long."

"Aro seemed very keen on getting us out of there, and fast," Emmett muttered.

"You came to find Volterra about as unguarded as it's ever going to be," Afton explained.

"He was worried that you had come to take Jasper and Alice," Chelsea added quietly. "He didn't even realize you were there at all until Jane and Alec came to find Alice." She paused. "Master isn't about to pick a fight with you, especially with the odds weighted so heavily in your favour." Her eyes flickered over to Bella for a moment, clear admiration in her eyes. "That display of power fifty years was unlike anything I've seen before," she admitted.

"But Aro wants Alice too much to risk her leaving," Edward said softly.

"Alice won't leave on her own," Afton disagreed. "She knows the terms of her agreement with Master Aro."

"Her services for Jasper's life," Chelsea explained softly. "If she leaves the guard of her own choice, Master has every right to kill him."

"Master Aro keeps her pretty exhausted mentally. She doesn't have much time to contemplate the loopholes, he's made sure of that," Afton murmured. "She probably would've fought you if you _had_ tried to take them."

"And Jasper?" Carlisle asked quietly.

"Jasper is more or less a prisoner," Afton replied. "He stays out of the catacombs now because Alice isn't as difficult for Master Aro when she has him with her. She's more useful to him when she isn't constantly distracted by visions of Alec and Jane torturing Jasper."

"He doesn't want to drive her to extremes like he did last year," Chelsea continued. "She really would've burnt down Volterra. As long as Jasper keeps to himself and out of trouble, Master will tolerate him."

They reached the city gates at that moment, and Chelsea and Afton paused. "I wouldn't try to come back without notice again," Afton advised. "How did you escape Alice's visions, anyway?"

"Renesmee and Jacob were with us right until we reached the doors of the compound," Rosalie explained with a grim smile. "They're waiting outside the city for us now. Alice can't see them, so as long as they're with us…"

"Hmm. That's interesting," Chelsea mused.

*~*~*

Jasper thought she'd fallen back into her trance, so he relaxed somewhat. Alice nestled deep into his arms, eyes still closed, her breaths soft and regulated as her hands wound their way up beneath his shirt. Smiling gently, Jasper pulled off his shirt and let her curl up against his skin, relishing the unique sensation of her face lying against his chest, her breath spreading across his skin.

"You'd tell me, right?" she asked softly. "If you were unhappy? You'd tell me?"

"I could never be unhappy where you are," Jasper whispered to her.

"Tell me what you were seeing, this afternoon," she requested, coming back to full consciousness as she pulled herself up to look him in the eyes. "What were you remembering, that was hurting you so much?"

Jasper sighed, wincing slightly as the grief rumbled threateningly from inside its tight little box. He wasn't sure he was ready to subject Alice to that sort of pain yet. "Just… memories," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her.

"Tell me, Jazz," she ordered quietly, in a tone of voice that left no room for argument.


	7. Breaking the Silence

**_Chapter 6: Breaking the Silence_**

"Alice, I don't know if I can get through it," he warned softly. "I don't want to lose it on you again…"

She pressed herself in closer, kissing the edges of his lips. "I'm right here. I won't let you get lost," she whispered in promise.

Still, he hesitated – wondering where to begin, where to end, what to say. She had suspected for a long time, he knew, that there was something in his past he'd never shared. Even Maria – he nearly started growling again at the name – even Maria hadn't known about Celia.

She sighed, laying kisses around his face at random. "Does this have to do with that package that you think I don't know about?" she murmured. "The doll's cape? I see you, you know, sometimes, when I'm not there, taking out of the chest. I can see you running your fingers through it, and I can see that it hurts you."

How had he ever thought he could hide something like this from her?

"Who was it for?" she asked softly, tracing her fingers through his hair.

Sighing, Jasper decided to just do it. "My sister. It was a present for her fourth birthday. I'd left home by then, I'd already joined the army. The laundress for the cavalry had stitched it for me, with material I'd found at a destroyed home. It was velvet, emerald-green velvet and I knew Celia would love it. She'd been asking for a cape for her doll before I'd gone."

"What happened?" Alice asked carefully.

"I went back home for her birthday," he replied, voice shaking. "My mother… my mother was always a little self-involved, I knew she wouldn't remember Celia's birthday – and our father had left before Celia had even been born. But when I got there… the entire property was burnt to the ground. I think a group of Union soldiers must've done it – I'd seen it before, in other towns. It looked like it had been a while since it had happened –"

He stopped as the pain started coming back, closing eyes and moaning slightly. Immediately, Alice flew into action, her gentle kisses pressing against his eyelids and his lips. "Stay with me, Jasper," she whispered.

"In a lot of ways, Celia was more like my child than just my sister," he said hoarsely. "So it was like… it was like losing my daughter _and_ losing my sister. And they'd killed her in such a horrible way… and I hadn't been there to protect her… and I broke my promise…" He cringed at the morbidly-delighted snarls of pain inside, pushing its way out of its confinement and beginning to run its course once more.

"Shhh, Jazz, stay with me," Alice soothed, rubbing his shoulders. Her lithe hands made gentle, firm circles across his tense muscles. "You had no way of knowing…"

"You know how everything I feel seems so much more powerful than it does to somebody else… especially the negative emotions," he continued softly, closing his lips around hers, pulling her firm body against his in a desperate attempt to calm himself. "The pain and the grief and the anger… it wouldn't have been easy for any normal person, but me… it was like I was drowning in it. It was all I could feel… I was going to jump off a cliff into the river, just to have it all _stop_."

"Why didn't you?" Alice asked carefully, nuzzling her nose against his cheekbones.

"My unit leader talked me down. Promised me revenge…"

Alice's eyes went sad with understanding, never stopping her relentless kisses.

"I went a little crazy," he whispered in shame. "When I moved higher up in rank, my new superiors thought it was just devotion to the cause. The others, who'd been with me then, they knew better. They knew it was vengeful obsession. I wanted every Union soldier I ran across dead. I had no clue who was truly responsible, so they all were."

"Shh…" she whispered again.

"I could never bring myself to get rid of her present," he admitted. "There was one man in a Louisiana infantry unit we were traveling with – he had a daughter not much older than Celia. He offered to buy it off me, let his little girl make use of it. I nearly killed him. I feel bad about it now, Lieutenant Compton was a good guy – too nice for army life, really. I've always hoped he made it through the war…"

Alice settled herself down comfortably against him, fingers still lightly combing through his hair. As she fell into a vision, she was acutely aware of him kissing her with the sort of aching desire she rarely felt from him outside of their reunions after an extended separation. Now, she thought, she might have the slightest bit of understanding about why he hated to leave her.

The vision confused her, and she wondered whether it was truly a vision or just something her mind was making up.

In it, she was sitting on a damp red rock in what looked like somewhere in the South. The sun was shining brightly outside the cavern she sat in, and she was watching her beloved a little distance away in the dark, as he crouched down to look at the indistinct little porcelain doll in front of him. The girl – she couldn't be any more than four years old – seemed especially miniscule in contrast to Jasper's muscular, leonine frame.

"What about your parents?" she asked quietly. "What happened to them?"

Jasper sighed, and was silent for a moment. Then he spoke again. "Their marriage wasn't a particularly happy one. My grandfather Sumner – my mother's father – had literally held my father at gunpoint during the wedding to ensure he went through with it. My mother was already pregnant with me when they married, and there was quite a considerable age gap between my father and my mother, so of course people made assumptions. It was the scandal of the century, apparently – my father was going on 41, I believe, when I was born; my mother was only about 14 and a half."

Alice absorbed those numbers with a certain degree of shock. It was no wonder that there could've been such a large age difference between him and his sister.

"My father never appreciated being forced into that marriage," Jasper continued distantly. "Most of his anger got directed at my mother, but sometimes I would get caught in the crossfire… He had a horrible temper – something I inherited, unfortunately, as I've realized over the years."

"You do not have a horrible temper," Alice corrected sternly. "You have no more a temper than anybody else. It just seems worse to you because of your gift. And you have _never_ lashed out at any of us."

"At Edward, when he saved Bella from the accident…"

"That doesn't count. You were perfectly in control of yourself."

Jasper just sighed and gave up the argument. "He left one day when I was 13," he said, returning to the original topic. "Just packed his bags and left. I don't know where he went, I'm not even sure why he left. But he did, and that left me to take care of everything. We had no family on my father's side, and my mother's family was a state away…"

"What about your mother?" Alice asked softly. "Why wouldn't she have…"

Now Jasper seemed pensive. "My mother… I don't think that it was necessarily that she was a _bad_ mother. I think, maybe, she was just much too young. She never really had a chance to mature, to realize that she was supposed to be the adult and that there were more important things to worry about than her appearance and her social status – the things she'd been concerned with when she'd first gotten pregnant. If she'd been about ten years older, maybe she would've turned out differently. I'm not sure." He paused, his eyes seeming to watch the memories flying through his mind. "When my father was there, I'm sure that she seemed more like a second child to him than a wife. He kept her reasonably spoiled, though. She didn't have any real responsibilities – in theory, I'm sure she was supposed to be looking after me, but one of the household hands ended up taking over the important parts of that job. My mother just… wasn't very good at it. She was better at dressing me up, taking me with her to social events to show off, like a particularly adorable accessory. And once my father had left, she just… lost interest in everything, I suppose. Her public appearance had gone belly-up when my father left. People were spreading all sorts of nasty rumours – and her apathy towards Celia and I didn't help her any. The midwife who delivered Celia, she was the mother of one of the biggest gossips in Houston, and by the end of the week, the entire circle of VIPs in the city knew that Margaret Whitlock hadn't even looked at her daughter, let alone held her."

Now Alice knew she was just imagining things – she could see Jasper, dressed in the simple trousers and shirt common in the 1800s, though his face was human in its classic beauty and he appeared younger. His blonde curls were a little more unruly, his face a little rounder, his eyes still the same startlingly perfect shade of caramel – maybe just because she could never imagine him with any other sort of eyes. He was cradling a tiny bundle of white blankets in his arms, uncertainty in his eyes as he walked back and forth in a parlor of some kind, his gaze focused on the little baby he held.

"I remember thinking how _small_ she was, and how… fragile," he murmured. "Maybe just because I was so much bigger than she was. She always seemed so breakable to me."

"What did she look like?" Alice asked softly, stroking his cheek.

Jasper sighed. "The women in the area used to call her the prettiest child in the city. She looked a lot like me, I suppose – we both took after Mother. Except for the eyes. The eyes were our father's."

The vision of the cavern returned, clearer now. The little girl Jasper watched with such gentle adoration was small, delicate. She had long blonde hair, tangled and coated in dust, and the eyes that sparkled back at him were bright caramel. She had a dazzling smile that put angels to shame, and her little hands were holding onto the sleeves of Jasper's shirt as she turned her attention to Alice.

It was surprising how, even in a vision – even in a vision that wasn't even real – Alice wanted so much to wrap that little girl up in her arms and take her home. Take her home, clean her up, give her something new to wear besides that dirty, dusty, ragged dress (which had to date back centuries), and protect her from every small evil.

Jasper's faint voice was still talking when she came back to Earth. "… and – what is it, Alice?" he asked worriedly. "What are you seeing?"

"Nothing," she sighed, slight disappointment in her voice as she settled in against his chest. "Just errant flashes."

How could losing somebody she didn't even know – somebody who'd died long before even her parents were born – hurt so badly?

*~*~*

Alice had fallen back into her sleep-like trance hours earlier, her head nestled tightly between his neck and the pillow as her breath tickled gently against his skin.

Jasper sighed as he brushed his fingers lightly across her cheek, relishing every second he got to have her snuggled in with him. Could he ever have imagined being this happy again in the entirety of his miserable existence? Could his mind ever have fathomed the depths of this love? Could his heart have ever survived not knowing her?

Alice moaned softly, and he felt the frown form on her face. "What is it, Alice?" he asked.

"Nothing," she repeated, eyes opening as she slid out of his embrace. "Chelsea and Afton are coming." Sitting up, she looked over at him. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

Sighing, she crossed the room and took hold of his hands. "For telling me. For not throwing yourself off that cliff in 1861. For finding me. For staying with me. Shall I go on?"

"_I_ should be the one thanking _you_," he replied with a brief smile. "You were the one who did all the finding and the staying. I just walked into a diner to get out of the rain." Ducking down, he closed his lips onto hers. "You are by far the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me, and nothing is going to change how unworthy I am of your love."

"Don't be silly," she murmured. "I can't think of any better recipient of my love and absolute devotion."


	8. Forgive Us Our Trepasses

A/N: LOL, last chapter got so many reactions!

In answer to _merina_, no, she's not actually seeing the past; Alice just has a vivid imagination. And I agree with you about Michael Sheen – I was shivering, he was so deliciously creep-tastic.

**_Chapter 7: Forgive Us Our Trespasses_**

"Jasper, don't!" Alice laughed as he pinned her against a nearby tree, burying her under a volley of kisses. "We have to get back. Chelsea and Afton will be wondering where we are. You know, we still have a reason for being in France, and it is _not_… to…" She trailed off when he continued to pepper kisses along the edges of her lips, and she began distractedly unbuttoning his shirt.

A very slight smug smirk crossed his face at that moment. Without a word spoken, his hands wandered down to her waist as she removed his shirt. Leaning in and delivering a fiery kiss, he murmured, "What were you saying?"

"I don't know," Alice said faintly. "What was I saying?"

"Couldn't have been that important," he breathed into her ear, pulling her shirt over her head. "If you can't remember what it was…"

"No, must not have been…" she agreed softly. Then she blinked rapidly. "Oh! Jasper!" she reprimanded, pushing him back.

Busted.

Alice grimaced at him peevishly as she pulled her shirt back on. "Put your shirt on," she ordered crossly. "No fair playing dirty." She sighed. "At least you have the decency to look sheepish," she muttered darkly as Jasper disappeared into the shadows to find their abandoned cloaks a few miles away.

Sighing again, Alice leaned back against the tree to wait for Jasper's return.

Chelsea appeared beside her, panic in her eyes. "I was getting worried," she said. "Don't do that to me."

"I'm sorry, Chelsea," Alice said quietly. "I got a little distracted."

The young guard continued, "Master lets you hunt your animal blood because Afton and I will go with you. We don't tail you because I trust you're not going to run. Can you _see_ what I thought when you didn't meet us at the decided time? When Afton looked for you and he didn't see any anticipated return? When there was no sign of your cloaks _anywhere_?"

"I'm sorry," Alice repeated. "We didn't mean to scare you…"

"Alice, you _can't_ do this!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Master never wanted Afton in the first place! My love is the _only_ thing saving him – I _can't_ give Master an excuse to get rid of him."

"I'm sorry, Chelsea."

*~*~*

"Chelsea, dearest, you look troubled," Aro said gently. "Come to me. Show me why." He held out his hand to her.

Chelsea cast a quick, apologetic glance in Alice and Jasper's direction. "It's nothing, really, Master; you know I tend to overreact sometimes…" But she still came forward, hand extended towards the master she served without question.

"Chelsea, I have never known you to overreact to something in centuries of being with me," Aro replied affectionately, closing both hands around hers. He watched her memories, his face slowly twisting into a frown.

Afton glanced over at Alice and Jasper as Alice began watching the vision.

She sat on their bed, curled up with his head lying in her lap, Jasper's hands clutching at his messy golden curls with his eyes tightly shut and a pained expression on his face. She recognized that look – the look he got when fighting the scent of human blood became almost impossible to bear. She stroked his hair anxiously.

"Thank you, Chelsea. You and Afton are dismissed," Aro assured his guard as he released her hand. "You are not to blame for this. Alice, Jasper, come."

Cautiously, Alice stepped forward, Jasper always just a half step behind her. "Yes?"

"Explain yourself."

"I got distracted, that's all," Alice replied quickly. "It won't happen again."

"No. No, it won't," Aro agreed, his voice terse.

"Please," Alice begged with a slight tremble in her voice.

"From now on," Aro said decisively, "you will feed with the rest of the guard, or you will not feed at all."

*~*~*

"I'm sorry," Chelsea said in an anguished voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd do this…"

"It's all right," Alice whispered. "It's not as if he wasn't just waiting for a reason…" She shuddered at the vision that flashed through her mind: lunging at a trembling, terrified young man, her teeth sinking into his flesh. He was screaming in agony, thrashing around as she wavered between feeding and resisting.

Then the vision disappeared abruptly, as she buried her face against Jasper, and she couldn't see herself killing any humans. Now it was Jasper going after the human, eyes brilliant crimson as he snapped the man's neck with lightning speed. Poor sucker probably wouldn't feel a thing.

Jasper was going to do it for her. She didn't have to fret (as much) about feeding from a dead man. Involuntarily, she relaxed at the thought and settled herself back down into his arms. Still saddened by the thought of her beloved returning to his hated roots, Alice stroked his scarred forearm lightly with her fingers.

"Chelsea, love, come on," Afton said softly from the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Chelsea repeated again, backing away slowly towards Afton.

"It's okay," Jasper finally spoke, in a voice barely loud enough to be heard. "We don't blame you. It's nothing I haven't done before," he added darkly, discontent and outright disgust in every syllable. At Alice's soft whimper, he turned his attention to her tormented face. His fingertips grazed gently across her features, eyes gentle and compassionate. "It's okay," he repeated.

"No, it's not," Alice whispered just as Afton closed the door. "I know you don't want to do it. And it's going to be a thousand times worse for you here… It won't be like Mexico, where they still thought they had a fighting chance of escape. They're penned in, and they're all terrified…"

"I'll survive," Jasper soothed. "Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to, in order to spare the people you love."

*~*~*

It was still two weeks before they had to worry about the new arrangements, however. But at every chance he got, Aro was subtly, but gleefully, rubbing their noses in his success.

The closer it got to the fatal day, Jasper began spending more and more time alone while Alice was in with the other guards. Sometimes she would find him wandering around the dark corridors with a tormented look in his eyes, a faint, broken expression. It would take gentle, but firm tugging on her part, and a nonstop series of light kisses to tempt him back into the sanctuary of their quarters.

He was in deep thought the night before, unresponsive even to her best attempts to distract him.

Finally, she climbed over him, crushing her lips against his with an angry, passionate power. "Damn it, Jasper, pay attention to me!" she snapped irrationally. Then she stopped. Where had that sudden anger come from? She'd never, _never_ snapped at him like that before.

"Ow," he said softly, coming back to Earth with a flinch as his eyes met hers. "Alice… let go of my arms."

Startled, she released his arms, realizing belatedly that she'd been gripping them with a strength she didn't even know she had. "Jasper, please…"

He took her into his arms gently. "I promise you, Alice, I will _never_ let you become a monster," he whispered, kissing her lightly as he repeated the promise she had been longing wordlessly for. "You will _never_ become a monster as long as I'm around. Settle down now. Try to meditate for a little while, okay?"

Sighing, she snuggled deep against him, closing her eyes obediently and wiping her mind of thoughts. Funny how no matter how she tried to play it out, she could always see Jasper killing the human, but she could never see herself drinking from him. But she had to be – what other way was there now?

"Just remember that no matter what happens, Alice, I love you more than my own life," his voice whispered, vague and distant, in her ear. "You promise?"

"I promise," she whispered distractedly. "What am I promising?"

"You promise you'll still love me even after what I'm going to do to you?" he asked again, his voice shaking now.

"Nothing you could do would make me stop loving you," she breathed softly.

"Please remember I love you," he repeated.

*~*~*

He was forcing her into the closet, into darkness, and she couldn't see when she was going to come out…

"Jasper, what are you doing?" Alice demanded frantically as the perplexing vision ended, and he took her into his arms, laying a light kiss on her nose before he closed her into the closet, making the world go dark. The rattle of a lock outside told her that he was locking her in. "Jasper!" she cried again, terror in her voice. "Jasper, please…"

"I love you, Lissy," he whispered. Then there were the sounds of their door opening and closing, and footsteps disappearing down the corridor. And nothing.

She sat there in terror for what seemed like hours. Maybe even days. Time meant nothing in the dark and the silence. She tried to break down the door, but it held fast. Built to withstand a vampire's strength. She tried screaming for a short time, before she realized that the doors in Volterra were soundproof. Nobody would hear her.

The faint flickering light of the candles slowly burned out, one by one, in their bedroom.

"Jasper…" she begged in a small, broken voice. Why was he doing this to her? What possible purpose could this serve?

The door opened and closed again, and she scrambled upright, kicking at the door. "Please, Jasper, whatever I did, I'm sorry…"

She lost her balance when the closet door disappeared from beneath her feet and Jasper's familiar muscled arms swept her up into his hold. "You think that it was something _you_ did that made me lock you in there?" he growled. She could barely make out the shape of his face in the darkness. "Baby, you did _nothing_. I just couldn't risk you coming after me… I'm sorry, Lissy, I'm sorry I scared you. Lie down, now," he soothed, setting her down on the bed. "Lie down and relax."

Oh, was this the way he was going to do it?, she wondered as she obeyed his gentle commands. He was going to spare her the brutality in all its forms, feed her the blood he drained away under the cover of darkness so that she didn't have to see the crimson in his eyes?

"Don't hate me, Alice," he whispered to her as she felt the slim glass figure of a dropper slide between her lips. "This is all done very carefully to make sure nothing goes wrong."

The second the first drop touched her tongue, she knew it wasn't human. Whatever it was he was feeding her was wrong, somehow – as though it were trying to taste like blood, but it was failing in some major respect. It didn't taste much like animal blood, but it didn't taste much like human blood either. What was it, and why did it taste like this?

The dropper emptied, and her thirst flared into consciousness, reminding her that it was hardly enough to satisfy. Jasper pulled the dropper from her mouth softly, returning it to her seconds later. "Just a little bit for right now," he murmured as it emptied again. "I need to make sure this works…"

"Jasper…" she begged as the pain throbbed at her throat. "Please… more…"

"Lissy, listen to me. Is this thirst any different from normal?" His question was spoken softly into her ear, lips grazing against her cheek.

"It hurts, Jazz, _please_…" she sobbed. "I need more."

"In a moment, baby, answer my question. Is it any different?"

She tried to stop crying, tried to think about it. Not really, no, she supposed. It felt more or less as though he had simply interrupted her hunt right now…

"No," she whimpered. "More…"

"Shh… careful," he soothed as he put a bottle against her lips. "Didn't I promise you that I would never let you turn into a monster?"

"What is this?" Alice asked between desperate gulps.

"It's better if you don't know the specifics, Lissy," he murmured.

"It's not human," she persisted.

"Yes, it is," he countered.

"No, it isn't."

Jasper laughed softly at her petulant words. "Alice Whitlock Cullen," he said into her ear with a light kiss. "I know better than you what's in that bottle. Stop arguing and just drink it. That's all you've got until the next feed."

"What?" she asked, a sudden note of horror in her voice.

"It's for your own good, Alice, my love," Jasper whispered. "Just drink."

"What am I drinking, though?" she demanded. "It doesn't taste human."

"I promise you, Lissy, it is human blood in there. It's just… modified, a little." He laid his head down on her shoulder, pressing soft kisses against her throat. "Just drink it."

*~*~*

Whatever in the world he had fed her, it was severely lacking in any lasting nutritional benefit: within a week, she was in painful thirst again.

"It's appalling, really," Aro commented with a mournful shake of his head as Alice was turning to leave the pavilion, her body continuously trembling from the pain. "Perhaps there's more of Maria in him than I previously assumed," he said to Caius casually, though the barbed sentence was clearly directed towards Alice. "I didn't think any member of Carlisle's odd little coven would be so cruel."

"You are simply mad with curiosity, Aro," Caius replied disdainfully. "The Southerner surely has his own agenda."

"I _do_ wonder…" Aro mused aloud. "Alice?" he called lightly.

Alice paused at the doorway, cursing Aro in her mind, and not even caring that he would hear those hateful words soon enough. "Yes?"

"Would you be a dear and send Jasper to me?" Aro asked pleasantly.

"Yes," she repeated curtly.

*~*~*

"Hi, sweetheart," Jasper greeted sympathetically as she entered their quarters. Wrapping his arms around her, he murmured into her ear, "I'm sorry, Alice. Please believe me when I say it's for your own good…"

"Aro wants to see you in the pavilion," she said crossly, pulling away from him. What good were his words when he was torturing her like this? Words meant nothing without actions to back them up – and his actions were telling her that he didn't care, that he was perfectly happy to slake his own thirst and let her suffer. Hadn't he done terrible things in his existence – seduced, lied, stolen, tortured innocent strangers, killed enemies and comrades, betrayed and abandoned people who had trusted him? And yet this was the worst – because she wasn't just anybody, or so she had thought. She was _supposed_ to be the most important person in his life. She was _supposed _to mean more to him than his own life. The roles _should've_ been reversed – she should've been feeding while he thirsted. She would've done it for him.

"Alice…" he pleaded, reaching for her again.

"Go," she snarled at him. "I know you don't really care. If you loved me, you wouldn't be _killing_ me!"

"Alice, it is impossible for us to die of thirst," Jasper said quietly.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Alice spat out. "You've starved enough people in your life!"

There was a shocked silence from Jasper as he stared at her, perplexed. "Alice," he said in an injured tone.

"Get out of my sight," she growled.


	9. Give Us This Day

A/N: LOL, chapter 7 might've actually gotten more reaction than chapter 6!!!!

**TiggerFace**, you came the closest to understanding what was going on with Jasper and Alice. Never fear, dear readers, things will be explained! No divorce on the horizon for our beloved Whitlock-Cullens (I love them as a couple and as a concept too much!)

I do apologize for the tardiness of this update – I worked right through Christmas weekend, and then I got to spend some time with my BFF, who's home from college in another province for the break, and _then_ my family went to the US for a couple of days, and now I'm going to be working right through the New Years weekend. I've been trying to update this story once a week on Sunday or Monday, but doesn't look like it's going to happen.

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Chapter 8: Give Us This Day

He was staring at her in wounded surprise. "Alice…"

"Did you not hear me?" she growled. "Aro wants you in the pavilion." With that, she turned her back to him, curling up into a tight ball on their bed with another pained moan.

"Lissy…" he whispered into her ear, arm sliding over her waist. "Sweetheart, one day, when there's not so much at stake, I'll explain it all to you. I know it isn't really you snarling at me like this, and I know that deep inside that angry, bloodthirsty person you feel like right now, you know that I get no pleasure out of doing this to you." His lips pressed gently against her cheek. "I _do_ love you more than my own life, Alice. If I thought it would do you any good, I would happily switch places with you."

"Go see Aro," she snarled, pulling away from him.

Words meant nothing.

*~*~*

When Jasper next came to, he was back in the darkness and silence of the catacombs.

Stretching out his arms and legs tentatively, his feet and hands smashed into the hard stone of a tomb. He wasn't in the path as he had been before – he was trapped in one of the burial sections. Frowning, Jasper tried to push out the walls at his head and his feet with no success.

Damn. This wasn't good.

*~*~*

Alice lay there in agony for some time, wishing that Jasper would come back. How long could Aro possibly need him for?

Maybe she was becoming slightly contradictory in her thirst. Right now, she hated him, but she still wanted the soothing reassurance of his presence. Even when she was angry beyond all reasonable excuses at him, it was nice to have him hovering nearby.

What was he doing, anyway? Closing her eyes, Alice tried to concentrate on Jasper's immediate future. There was nothing to be seen no matter how she tried to look at it. Vaguely, in the hazy, uncertain and very distant future, she saw Carlisle and Edward bending over him in a dark place.

Frowning, Alice switched to Aro's future, hoping to circumvent Jasper's blank future that way. But his future was aggravatingly uninteresting: sending Alec and Jane to deal with something, taking Sulpicia to Egypt, discussing something in soundless voice with Marcus and Caius.

Who else might be in on Jasper's discussion with Aro?, Alice wondered as she flipped rapidly through the futures of the various guards. Alec and Jane were going to entertain themselves in the catacombs with the woman trapped inside – they had no intentions of leaving until summoned. Renata, hovering anxiously in the antechamber of Aro and Sulpicia's quarters as usual – she would remain there until Aro dismissed her. Caius and Athenodora, in quiet contemplation in their own quarters. Marcus was studying the portrait of Didyme as he normally did. Felix and Demetri were leaving to investigate a small newborn army getting out of control in Texas. Santiago and Heidi were releasing… physical tensions. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Alice quickly changed people to avoid seeing anything more explicit.

Finally, she reluctantly looked in on Afton and Chelsea – she didn't like snooping in their futures, when they had always been nothing but accommodating to her. It seemed too much like an invasion of privacy. Afton and Chelsea deserved the same respect that she had tried to give her family: nothing was more embarrassing and more upsetting than to have your intimate moments with your mate become anybody else's knowledge.

Afton was raging on a rocky crag somewhere indistinct, his words inaudible but their message clear. Where was Chelsea? Concerned, Alice switched her attention to Chelsea, to see her crying a vampire's tearless sob – in _Aro's_ chambers?

What had happened – what was going to happen – with Afton and Chelsea?

"_Master never wanted Afton in the first place… I can't give Master an excuse to get rid of him…"_

Chelsea's anxious words from France echoed in Alice's mind. Had Aro found some excuse to rid Volterra of Afton? Did it have something to do with Jasper's suddenly blank future?

*~*~*

"_Chelsea, my dear,"_ Aro's gentle voice grew louder the closer Alice came to his chambers. _"Chelsea, dearest Chelsea, surely you see how dangerous it would have been to keep him here…"_

"_You bastard!"_ Chelsea screamed. _"He did NOTHING!"_

"_Chelsea, calm yourself,"_ Sulpicia said sharply. _"You ought not to speak to your master like that."_

"_Oh, shut up, you old hag!"_ Chelsea spat out angrily.

"_Chelsea, enough!" _Aro roared, just as Alice reached the antechamber and cast a questioning look at Renata. _"Gods help me, Chelsea, I will turn you over to Alec and Jane!"_

"What's going on, Renata?" Alice murmured, sliding into place on the other side of the doorway.

Renata frowned at her. "You don't know? I thought for sure…"

Alice shook her head.

"Master has sent Afton back to Scotland," Renata replied quietly. "Chelsea's a little upset at that."

"Why?" Alice asked with a frown. "What did Afton do to merit banishment?"

"He didn't turn in your Southerner when he broke out of Volterra last week," Renata said softly. "Master found out about it when he read your Southerner's mind tonight, and Master believes that Afton must have known about it."

"Jasper _left_ Volterra?"

"I thought you were supposed to see everything," Renata said in surprise.

"I'm not as finely tuned when I'm thirsty," Alice said dryly. "Why did Jasper leave Volterra?" 'And why did he come back once he was gone?' she added in her mind. Why had he voluntarily returned to captivity when he could've been free to go back to the States and the Cullens?

"Your Southerner was diluting your feeding supply," Renata replied. "I don't have the slightest idea as to why, but he had been diluting the human blood with venom… and animal blood."

"_Just a little bit for right now… I need to make sure this works…"_

"_Is this thirst any different from normal?"_

"_Didn't I promise you that I would never let you turn into a monster?... It's better if you don't know the specifics, Lissy."_

It hit her like a speeding train. "The _endemoniado_," Alice groaned. "He was trying to keep the _endemoniado_ dormant." Guilt and shame battered against her heart. "God! And I was –" She stopped as a new, more horrifying thought struck her. "What happened to Jasper?"

"Well, he broke the terms of his conditional release, didn't he?" Renata said, as if it were obvious. "Master sent him back to the catacombs." She stopped, a perplexed expression on her face as Alice felt something break very subtly from within her.

"_See how long your guards remain loyal to your tyranny when I'm not here!" _Chelsea snarled viciously inside the chambers. _"You can't keep me here! I'm not one of your prisoners and now you have _nothing_ to hold me here like you do Alice!"_

"_Chelsea…"_ Now Aro's voice was more frantic. _"Don't do something rash, dearest."_

"_Rash?!"_ Chelsea shrieked. _"RASH?!"_

Alice understood in that moment. Chelsea was leaving the guard, releasing her constant hold on the guard's unity as a whole. It had likely felt stronger to Renata than it had to her – Chelsea had kept her control to a minimum with Alice and Jasper.

Aro was evidently changing tactics. _"Is this how you choose to repay me, Chelsea?_ _Is this how you repay me for saving you from that monster who called herself your mother? For giving you a safe place to stay, the life you wanted? For letting you keep your ragged, drowned-rat Scotsman when you dragged him in here in 1912?"_ His voice had turned soft, pained – though the pain sounded forced to Alice. _"Chelsea, dearest… think about what you're doing. You haven't been away from Volterra for an extended period of time since you came to us – the outside world isn't like it is here."_

Chelsea's voice was flat and cold. _"The rest of the world gets along just fine. Carlisle and Eleazar seem to have done well for themselves. Maybe it's time for Afton and I to pay a visit to North America…"_

The subtle threat seemed to have shocked Aro into silence.

Alice frowned as a flash hit her – Afton, face set in furious contempt, was running at top speed through the trees of the Pacific Coast forests, with the Denalis not far behind him.

Chelsea exited the chambers at that moment. "Alice, come with me? To the doors, at least?" she requested softly.

"Sure," Alice said quietly. The two girls began to head towards the exit doors of Volterra in silence, Alice casting an anxious glance at the catacomb door, slightly ajar.

"Alice, can you see Afton?" Chelsea asked. "Is he still in Scotland?"

"No," Alice replied. "He's gone to the States. It looks as though he's already found Tanya's family – the coven Eleazar and Carmen live with – and I think they were going to meet up with Carlisle and the others."

Chelsea smiled slightly. "He had the same thought that I did," she murmured. Then she looked back at Alice. "I _am_ really sorry about what happened to Jasper. I shouldn't have lost it like that in France…"

"We don't blame you, Chelsea," Alice repeated, firmly squelching the snide remark she wanted to make. Hadn't speaking and acting without forethought already gotten her into enough trouble? Cost her enough of her happiness and Jasper's freedom? "Go find Afton. Maybe you'll find you like it better in the outside world… Don't worry about us."

"Thank you," Chelsea said. "For everything."

*~*~*

Wherever he had been sealed away, it must have been pretty far into the tombs, because Jasper couldn't hear a single thing. He couldn't sense Alice, not even Margaret. It was the ultimate isolation – and as a general rule, Major Jasper Whitlock Hale did not like isolation. Solitude was one thing; isolation, an entirely different matter.

Taking a deep, useless breath, Jasper tried to calm himself. Focusing his energies on one thing and one thing only, he prayed that it would work.

*~*~*

Alice slowed down by the catacomb doors, feeling the faint, familiar pulling at her heartstrings. The ache filled her entire body as unhappiness and loneliness infiltrated her thoughts.

Jasper was calling her. And he was calling much more strongly than he ever had before – as if he was using everything he had to make sure it reached her. Usually, his wordless pleas for her presence were much milder – a hopeful hint rather than this desperate cry.

"Alice!" Aro called down the hallway. "Come here!"

Sighing, Alice cast one last, longing glance towards the door before she turned away.


	10. Lead Us Not Into Temptation

**Chapter 9: Lead Us Not Into Temptation**

"Yes, Aro?" Alice asked tersely, entering the pavilion. "You wanted to see me?"

"Bethany should not be long in returning," he said, expression still furious from Chelsea's departure. "I need you to be back to full strength tonight – I have some requests to make of you."

Bethany… Bethany was the guard sent out to round up humans for immortal Volterra's next feeding.

"Then maybe I should go hunting now," Alice replied quietly.

"No, no. You will be feeding with the rest of the guard," Aro cut her off swiftly. "Come with me."

Alice hesitated, the twinges of Jasper's desperation still tugging at her heartstrings. "I'm not sure that that's such a good idea."

"Alice, do not make me call somebody to drag you in."

"Aro," Marcus called calmly. "Allow me. We will be there by the time Bethany arrives." Taking Alice by the elbow, he propelled her out of the pavilion and back into the catacomb corridor. "Alice," he continued softly, "It is over. There is nothing left to fight Aro with. If you do not cooperate, he will simply get Felix and Demetri to hold you down and force the blood down your throat." He paused.

Alice shook her head slowly. "Jasper…" she whispered.

"Jasper is gone," Marcus murmured. "Nobody knows where he is. Aro alone knows, and he will never, _never_ release him."

"No," Alice repeated. "I need Jasper…" Her voice cracked. "I _need_ him. Aro knows – Aro _knows_ –"

"Aro is beyond caring," Marcus replied. "Listen to me. It will be much easier on you if you go willingly. It will do you no good to cry."

"But…"

"Alice, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, I am," she snapped suddenly, her patience worn through. "_You_ are not listening to _me_." With that, she turned away from Marcus and stalked into the catacombs.

*~*~*

She was ignoring him. How could she be that cruel? When he was crying for her, screaming with anguish without her?

Maria's silky voice whispered in his ear. _You can't change who you are. You can't be who she expects you to be. Fish can't fly – that's why they swim. They swim to be with their own kind, no matter how badly they might want to fly. A fish out of water is a death sentence._

God, even his demons sounded like Maria now.

_As his lips touched hers lightly, it was as though, for a brief moment, the world was perfect._

"_Don't worry, Jasper," she whispered to him, her fingers trailing over his face and neck to bring him closer. "I'm safe. I'm not here to hurt you…"_

But she had. She had pulled him out of the water and into the clouds, making him think, for the longest time, that just maybe fishes _could_ grow wings. That maybe a cynical, world-weary soldier with a heart of stone could find a little bit of peace. Now he realized what had happened: he hadn't been flying – she had been carrying him, and they'd flown into a raging storm. And she had fallen to the ocean – back to where he was comfortable.

But birds don't swim. They'd drown, and he wasn't strong enough to rescue her. No mere fish could support a bird's weight for long.

_You did this to yourself,_ Maria breathed again. _Didn't I warn you? Didn't I warn you long before she ever existed that you can't escape your true nature? Secrets are terrible things to keep, my lovely Gaspar…_

He snarled instinctively at the sound of his Mexican name. Gaspar had been a horrible person – concerned only for his own wellbeing. Gaspar had killed for no better reason than the rush it gave him to hear the agonized screams of his victims. Gaspar had turned on anybody who dared to trust him – including Maria, in the end. Gaspar had taken pleasure in torturing their newborns when they questioned his authority, or defied him. Gaspar had been Maria's favourite, because Maria valued ruthlessness, and sadism, and cold, hard reality.

_But was Jasper really any better?_ Maria cooed triumphantly. _Didn't Jasper do all the same things to perfectly innocent little humans? Didn't Jasper lock starving, dying men in wood shacks and light them on fire to hear them scream as they died?_

"Shut up," he whispered with difficulty.

_She doesn't know you at all,_ Maria continued, her voice viciously gentle. Caresses with the side of a knife, where the wrong movement would end with dismemberment. _If she knew the things you'd done, if she knew what you were really like… you know she would run from that. She's too _good_ – _Maria's voice twisted obnoxiously on the word, as if it were the most disgusting word she'd ever uttered – _for a monster like you. That's why you lie to her. Because you liked it when you were up in the air, looking down on the fishes like you were really better than them. She stroked your ego – she told you that you were _good_ – _Maria's voice broke off into derisive laughter – _and that you were strong and handsome and worthy of that useless concept they call _love_._

"She loves me," he whispered miserably.

_She loves the perfect man she made up in her head. Not the ugly, broken, cruel one she found wandering around Philadelphia in a rainstorm._

"No…"

_She's _endemoniado_. They aren't capable of feeling like others are. Your entire… _relationship_… is one big lie and an even bigger delusion. Even if she _was_ capable of _love_, what makes you think she would've chosen _you_? Your own father thought you were a throwback. Your own mother couldn't be bothered to call a doctor when he broke your arm._

Growling in frustration, Jasper smashed his fist angrily into the wall, a sick satisfaction passing through him as Maria faded away and the pain in his hand replaced her words.

_The only person who ever truly loved you is dead,_ Maria whispered cruelly. _And whose fault is that?_

"Mine," he finally croaked, dry sobs breaking free.

_Try and tell me that you're not a monster._

*~*~*

It was too dark to see properly in the passage. As Alice walked carefully along the wall, brushing her fingers against the crumbling stone façade, she kept 'listening' for Jasper's call. It had faded not long after her search had begun, but the anxiety and torment was enough to find him.

Oh, God, he needed her. She could feel the crushing weight of his self-hatred, and the closer she got to where he had to be, the heavier it got.

*~*~*

He was deep in the throes of emotional death when he heard the faint scraping sounds. By this point, though, he was beyond caring what happened to anybody. As he closed his eyes to shut out the possibility of sight, he tried to shut himself down entirely.

It was a familiar touch that brought him out of his stupor. A light, gentle hand gliding across his arm as a soft body sidled in beside him and the caress of plump lips on his own.

She whispered into his ear, "You stop thinking right now, because whatever it is, it isn't good for you."

Obediently, he stopped his train of thought and simply accepted the careful kisses that were being peppered across his face. They were accompanied by shots of tenderness and love, so he would accept this new delusion for as long as it chose to stay.

"There's nothing wrong with you," she whispered.

_She lies_, Maria hissed.

"You're not the same person you were. You are a good person, who got caught in a terrible situation. You did what you had to do to survive. That's not who you _are_."

_Listen to how she tries to make you perfect, Jasper,_ Maria breathed. _You know, I know, hell, _everybodyelse_ in this damn world knows that you are about the furthest thing from perfect. And yet still she spins pretty little lies designed to make you look like the man she wanted in the 1920s when she first woke up._

"I'm not," he moaned softly in agreement with Maria.

"You're not listening to me," she breathed in his ear. With those words came a mind-numbing amount of love and pent-up lust – so much of it that his hold on himself snapped and he threw himself headfirst into a rather mindless pillage of the body trapped in here with him.

*~*~*

The sudden ferocity with which he pounced on her was terrifying, to say the least. He'd never been this desperate in their entire century of life together – never.

"Shh, shh, Jasper, calm down," she whispered anxiously, trying to keep her cool. "Shh…" Frantically, she stroked his cheek, a gesture which had always worked in the past but failed to work now. "Jazz, baby, listen to me. Jazz." Sighing, she found herself left with no choice but to find the weak spot in his throat – a wound from Mexico that had never healed properly – and press in with all her strength.

He dropped like a sack of potatoes from her, a pained cry escaping his lips. His body was trembling from head to toe as she curled up next to him comfortingly. She knew he didn't like having an Achilles' heel, especially one that caused him so much pain. She was the only person he had ever allowed to have the knowledge of the danger behind that tiny little nick in the base of his throat – it looked like a simple scar to a casual observer – and to use it against him was a deep betrayal.

"I'm sorry, baby," she whispered to him. "It was the only way to make you stop." Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down as well, she kissed the spot lightly. "I'm sorry."

"Please," he whispered raggedly after a moment. "Even if you're just a figment of my delusional mind, I need you…"

"I'm not a hallucination," she replied with a soft laugh, "and you can always have me for the rest of our lives. But I don't like you attacking me like that. Now kiss me and make me forget that this has been the worst week of my life."

There was a low chuckle from his throat. "Are you feeling better, then?" he asked in amusement.

*~*~*

If delusions were always this lovely, he'd gladly take the madness. And this delusion smelled like Alice, talked like Alice, sounded like Alice, _felt_ like Alice…

She laughed slightly, the air escaping from her mouth and breezing across his skin. "More like for right now, I have slightly more sensible priorities. I still feel like hell, and my self-control is next to nil. I freaked out at Marcus."

"_Marcus_?" he asked in astonishment. "What did poor Marcus ever do to you?"

"Marcus tried to convince me that there's no point in fighting Aro anymore, and that I should just forget about you." There was outrage in every syllable she spoke.

"That'd probably be a healthy choice, to forget about me," he commented gravely.

"No. That's about the most unhealthy thing I could ever do. It's ultimately suicidal. Kiss me already."

"Alice, sweetheart, I'm not good –"

"Are _you_ having flashbacks of Edward and Bella? Because I definitely am."

*~*~*

Sometime later, it was clear that the thirst was getting the upper hand again, as she tensed and whimpered in his arms. He could feel her fists clench tight as she buried her face into his neck.

"I'm sorry, Lissy, I'm sorry I'm making you go through this," he whispered, rubbing her back. "Baby, I'm sorry…"

"Don't talk," she moaned into his skin. "I might say something I'm going to regret…"

Sighing, he shut up obediently and listened to the silence surrounding their dark, enclosed space. Faintly, ever so faintly, he could hear the sounds of high-heeled shoes clicking down the pathway and could smell the faint aroma of –

He jumped into action a split-second too late, as Alice finally lost control and smashed through the stone wall to pounce on the unsuspecting human woman.

She had drained the woman completely by the time Jasper managed to drag her away from the body – and by then, it was far too late.


	11. Escape From Volterra

A/N: So slowly, but surely, we're coming to the end. The sequels for this story have been screaming through my head for months. Celia's been throwing temper tantrums over wanting _her_ story told now (and the truth behind Celia's final days _will_ be found out). Yes, Celia is a living, breathing character in my head. She talks to me, LOL. I've fallen in love with her – I hope she's nearly as adorable for you as she is for me. She's shut up briefly because I've promised her that my creative writing exercises for my coursework this semester will, however distantly, be related to her story.

And ***shameless plug*** I've begun posting my original version of Dark Secrets (from chapter 3) on my LiveJournal _Prairie Musings_ (link is on my profile, or go to LiveJournal and search for carlied). Leave me a comment and tell me what you liked/disliked/wished I'd have left in!

**Chapter 10: Escape From Volterra**

"Damn it!" Jasper muttered as he jumped at Alice, dragging her away from the body. "Alice –"

She snarled wordlessly at him, struggling to escape the arms that had wrapped around her.

"Damn, damn, damn…" he cursed over and over again, slowly succeeding in pulling Alice further away from the dead woman lying in the path. "Alice, listen to me. Listen to me. Stop it. You're out of control. Calm down."

Alice merely screeched and yanked her head away from him, her nails digging into his forearms.

"Lissy, sweetheart," he tried again, pinning her to the ground beneath him. "Love, can you understand me?" At her enraged hiss, he cringed. This was _exactly _what he had been hoping to avoid.

*~*~*

"I _told_ her…" Edward muttered darkly. "I told her something like this would happen…"

"Edward, now isn't really the time for 'I told her so's," Bella murmured, watching the shaking young ex-guard. "Chelsea –"

"Where's Afton?" Chelsea interrupted. "Alice said he was on his way here."

"I just got off the phone with Tanya," Carlisle said calmingly. "They've just reached Colorado borders. Garrett and Eleazar were procuring a couple of cars to use."

"So how long?" Chelsea repeated.

"With the way this family drives?" Bella replied dryly. "Two hours, max."

"Do you have any idea where Aro might've taken Jasper, Chelsea?" Emmett asked, a gentle but urgent tone in his voice. "Where should we be looking first?"

Chelsea took a deep breath, hands still trembling in her lap. She looked every bit as young as she was, surrounded by the full-grown, adult Cullens. "I doubt he's left Volterra," she whispered finally. "There wasn't a long enough space of time… and –" she stopped, looking over at Carlisle for a moment.

"Chelsea, it will hardly surprise anybody in here what Aro did," Edward said quietly.

"Chelsea?" Carlisle asked.

"Mas – Aro," Chelsea said, stumbling over her words. "Aro's stopped allowing them to leave Volterra to hunt. He told them…" she stopped again, anguish in her voice. "It's my fault. I overreacted…"

"He told them that they would feed on human blood," Edward finished, putting a hand lightly on Chelsea's shoulder, "or they would starve."

"So Jasper's stronger than he was before," Emmett summarized quietly, a frown on his face. "Dude, it would take a half-dozen guards to overpower Jasper on human blood. Not unless Alec was there."

"Alec was with Jane in the catacombs." Chelsea shook her head. "It only took one. I'm not sure how…"

Edward let out a slow hiss of air. "Oh, that was low."

"What?" Rosalie asked sharply.

Edward was silent for a moment. "Aro found out his weak spot."

"That's not hard," Bella said blankly. "It's Alice. It doesn't take a telepath to tell you that."

Edward shook his head. "No. He has a literal weak spot. Aro would've found that out any time he read Jasper or Alice's thoughts." He stopped. "Or mine." There was horror in his voice.

"What do you mean, a 'literal weak spot'?" Esme asked softly.

Edward sighed. "Jasper has an old wound that never healed properly."

"Just like pressure points," Carlisle breathed in a low voice. "If you apply the right amount of pressure to certain areas on the human body, you can cause a great deal of pain or even temporary paralysis."

Chelsea stared at him for a moment. "I thought it was strange, how fast he went down…"

"It looks just like all his other scars," Edward murmured. "You have to know exactly where it is." He smiled wryly. "Jasper likes to lie to himself and think that Alice is the only person who knows. He probably wasn't even thinking about the fact Aro would've known…"

"Wait, what about Alice?" Rosalie asked suddenly. "Has she been –"

"Oh, shit, you're right," Emmett swore, as the other Cullens paled.

"What's going –"

"Emmett, call Tanya," Carlisle ordered, interrupting Bella's question as he yanked the phone off its cradle. "I'm getting us on the next flight to Italy. Edward, find the passports. Jacob, Nessie, you're staying behind."

"Why?" Nessie demanded indignantly.

"In case somebody comes home while we're over there trying to sort this out," Carlisle replied vaguely.

"What's going on?" Bella demanded again.

Rosalie looked over at her. "Last time Alice had human blood, she slaughtered ten guys in a high school parking lot. Thank _God_ nobody else was around, human or otherwise, but…" _(A/N: For those who didn't catch it, she's referencing the events of __Innocent Killer__)_

"I'm not sure what went on," Chelsea explained softly. "Jasper didn't let her come to the last…" she paused, searching for the right, politically-correct term. Finally, she gave up, just as the front door of the Cullens' house was opening. "Afton should know…"

"Chelsea!" Afton cried in relief, wrapping her into his arms tightly.

Chelsea delivered a kiss to his cheek. "Afton, what went on with Jasper?" she asked softly.

Afton looked up at the other Cullens. "Jasper broke out of Volterra to get animal blood for Alice. I guess Aro must've found out…"

"Why exactly are Jasper and Alice in Volterra in the first place?" Tanya asked, letting Afton and Chelsea lapse into a quiet discussion.

"It's a long story, Tanya," Carlisle replied quietly. "And it's more Jasper's story to tell."

*~*~*

"Alice!" Jasper growled in frustration, trying to keep her down. "Alice, for God's sake!"

_Aw, is _talking_ not helping?_ Maria's voice cooed tauntingly in his mind.

"Shut up, Maria," he muttered under his breath. "Alice!"

_You know how to coerce her into obedience, Gaspar…_

"Shut _up_," he muttered again.

_It's your funeral. She's going to escape you, and she's going to kill half of Volterra, and you're going down for it…_

"Shut _up_, shut _up_, shut _up_…"

"Oh, for the love of God!" came Margaret's voice from down the corridor. "That was my meal."

"Hello, again, Margaret," Jasper said tightly.

"Oh, you are back," she said pleasantly. "Did you enjoy your time on the outside?" There was a mild hint of sullenness in her voice.

"I did," he replied tersely. "Alice, calm down." He caught the direction of her movement a split-second too late, and she struck him on the throat, making him release her and drop to the ground.

The world spun as he struggled to recover his control of movement, every nerve in his body screaming in pain, and vaguely, he thought he saw Alice disappearing further down the corridor. He swore in every language he knew.

"Are you hurt?" Margaret asked in concern.

"Not as badly as she's about to be," he muttered, getting to his feet when there was no longer three of everything in his line of sight.

*~*~*

Afton was standing in the living room, eyes closed and fingers at his temples as he watched something. The Denalis, Jacob and Nessie were all sitting around the room, watching him in silence.

"They've left the compound," he murmured. "Alice found the hidden door in the catacombs. Jasper's going after her, Margaret's following him."

Eleazar groaned softly. "That door leads out of the city and into the countryside. At this rate, by the time they get to Italy, she could be in an entirely different country."

Afton winced. "Oh, that's going to leave a mark."

"What?" Chelsea asked anxiously.

"Jasper managed to catch up to her for a second. She nearly took his eye out." He paused. "He's lost her again. Not surprised, it's going to take time for that wound to heal, she got right to the nerves."

"Crap," Jacob muttered.

*~*~*

"Damn it, Alice!" he hissed in pain as he collapsed against a tree, one hand crushed against his left eye. He could feel the skin cells fusing back together, but the nerve endings and muscles were taking time to repair.

He saw Margaret approaching from the corner of his eyes, and for the first time, he could see what she looked like.

"Let me take a look," she said softly.

Cautiously removing his hand from the eye, his stomach turned over in horrified realization: he couldn't see from it. He was blind in one eye.

Carefully, Jasper studied the older woman as she inspected his injury. She had a young-looking face, long blonde hair falling limply, wide dark crimson eyes… but if he replaced them with slate grey eyes… replaced the ragged, dirty dress with a flowing blue dress… Put the glistening gold and diamond ring back on her left hand… Added a delicate string of pearls around her neck…

She must've noticed him tense, because she sat back, watched him a moment and then gasped.

"Jasper?"

He narrowed his eyes, wincing as pain shot through the left side of his face. "What the hell happened in 1861, Mother?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice. "What did you do to Celia?"


	12. The Truth

**Chapter 11: The Truth**

"What did you do to Celia?"

Her bone-white, perfect face froze. God, she must've been in raptures when she woke up and realized that the beauty was permanent and needed no maintenance… Jasper tried to calm himself, tried to remind himself that his mother's life had hardly been perfect, that the fixation on her appearance had been a desperate plea for attention, but the vision of the burnt-out shell of their house was haunting him. The memory of the charred baby doll (his heart twisted into painful knots) lying in the rubble and ashes…

"Jasper…" she said softly.

"Tell me what you did," he repeated in a low voice.

"Darling, I tried, but –"

"But _what_?!" Jasper spat out viciously. "You realized how much work it takes to actually take care of your child?"

"She was just so _difficult_," Margaret whispered. "She would not eat. She would not sleep. She would not dress herself – you know, when _you_ were three, you could dress yourself – and she spent all day crying…"

"Did you ever think it might've been because she didn't _know_ who you were?" he snarled. "_I_ raised her."

"She knew who I was," Margaret defended herself miserably.

"You were some woman who lived in the main floor bedroom and who came out every once in a while," Jasper shot back. "She had no concept of you as her mother!"

"And where were _you_, if you were so worried about her?!" Margaret burst out angrily. "Some kind of concerned guardian, to leave her alone with a useless mother like me –"

"I was making sure you had a goddamn roof over your head!" he interrupted. "Or did you think being pretty would magically produce money to pay the lenders when there was nothing left to sell?"

"Lenders?" Margaret's voice was blank.

"Oh, my _God_…" he groaned. "Did you really not notice that the house was getting emptied?"

"Why would the lenders…"

"I don't know," Jasper sighed finally, closing his eyes to ease the screaming pain in the wounded one. "My best guess is that Father left behind some debts in town." After a second, he spoke again. "What happened to Celia?"

Margaret sighed in response. "You really are like a dog with a bone, you know that? It is _most_ unbecoming."

"Excuse me for caring," Jasper muttered, before he started to get to his feet. He had to find Alice. Damn the fact he only had one functioning eye. He had two eyes. He only had one wife.

He'd barely taken a step before he stumbled. The ground had been closer, hadn't it?

There was a disgusted sigh from Margaret on his blind side, and he nearly whirled around and ripped her arm from her socket when she grabbed his shoulder. "Sit down, Jasper, before you get yourself killed."

"I need to find Alice."

"You are not catching up to her in this state," she reprimanded. "Sit down and let the eye heal."

"Oh, sure, _now_ you're giving me medical advice," Jasper muttered rebelliously. "Never mind the four-year-old human with a broken arm. 209-year-old vampire with an eye that'll heal on its own – now _that's_ somebody who needs help."

"Absolutely insufferable…" Margaret muttered under her breath. "Holding grudges will _not_ get you any further in life."

"Holding grudges has kept me alive thus far," Jasper retorted in a low voice.

"I give up," Margaret finally sighed, going further away from him – still on his blind side, of course.

*~*~*

They sat there in dark silence for what must've been hours. Jasper kept trying to get back up and go after Alice again, only to stumble and fall once more.

Margaret was now thoroughly irritated with him – as she had always been in his childhood, he recalled, when he would attempt something again and again despite numerous failures.

"Oh, for the love of all that is holy, Jasper, just stop!" she finally exploded, shoving him back against another tree.

Pain exploded in his eye socket again as he felt the slight internal repairs come undone. "Goddamn it!" he cursed, slamming his hand against the wound again to try and ease the pain. "Keep your goddamn hands off me! _Don't_ even speak to me," he added with a vicious snarl as he heard her take a breath as though beginning to talk.

"Jasper?" came a long-missed, familiar voice from his blind side: Esme. "What's wrong?"

"What isn't wrong?" Jasper murmured under his breath.

"Jasper, what's happened?" Carlisle's quiet, but assertive voice echoed his wife. "What's wrong with your eye?"

"Alice nearly ripped it out," Jasper replied tightly. "I think she tore through the optic nerve. It _was_ healing, before somebody shoved me into a tree," he added pointedly. There was no reply from Margaret.

"She was headed west?" Edward asked. When Jasper nodded slightly, he said, "Emmett and I will keep going to catch up with Alice. We'll call when we get her."

"Be careful," Esme called after them.

"Jasper, I'm coming up on your left," Rosalie's soft voice came from his blind side. After a second or two, he felt her hands close around his wrist and lightly pull his hand away from his eye. She inhaled sharply. "Oh… Carlisle, you should take a look at this."

"Let me see," came Carlisle's voice beside Rosalie. "You're right, Jasper, she's sliced the optic nerve."

"It'll heal, give it time," Jasper said stubbornly. "I need to go after Alice."

"Oh, for the love of –"

Margaret's exasperated exclamation was cut off by Rosalie. "Jasper Hale, you are not going anywhere with that eye," his sister said sternly. "Edward and Emmett can catch her. Let Carlisle set it – the eye's practically turned around in the cavity. It's really disgusting and terrifically disturbing, actually. Jacob and Emmett would get a kick out of it."

Jasper snarled halfheartedly at her, sensing the confusion and suspicion in Margaret's emotional state at the sound of his new name.

"You try so hard to be intimidating," Rosalie teased lightly, though her grip tightened on his wrists as she switched to his right side.

Carlisle's light touch passed over Jasper's wounded eye with expert ease. Then he sighed. "Jasper –"

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Jasper took a deep breath, clenched his fists as tightly as he dared and said, "Okay." Rosalie's hands were practically fused around his wrists by now.

Carlisle echoed his deep breath.

And then his head exploded with pain.

*~*~*

The pain was so fierce by now that he felt feverish, unable to escape the throbbing, swollen sensation on the left side of his face. Carlisle had forced his eyelid shut and taped it down securely, followed by a bandage wound tightly around his head. That eye wasn't moving for a good long time.

Esme was sitting by his side, stroking his head lightly as he moaned softly again. Her gentle love and sympathy soothed the pain somewhat, but what he really wanted right now was Alice's fingers combing through his hair as she nestled his head in her lap, feeding him love and devotion.

"I'm sorry, Jasper," Carlisle murmured from beside Esme. "I wish there were some way to give you painkillers."

Rosalie and Bella were silent on Jasper's other side, Rosalie's fingers still resting lightly around his wrist in a wordless show of comfort. A century of playing twins had created an indescribable, subtle bond between them. Finally, Rosalie said softly, "They haven't caught up with her yet. Edward called a little while back, said they were in France."

He hadn't heard anything from Margaret in a while, he realized.

"Jasper, don't strain yourself," Esme warned quietly as he struggled to right himself, his good eye opening slowly to the darkening woods around him. "You've been badly injured, let your body heal."

"Where did M – Margaret go?" Jasper asked, one hand automatically drifting up to the bandage.

Carlisle caught his wrist swiftly. "Don't touch it. She's still here."

"M – Margaret, tell me what happened," he said, a little louder, as he searched the area with his one good eye. He finally spotted his biological mother standing across the clearing, watching him with a sullen, unhappy expression on her face.

"Jasper," Rosalie started to say soothingly, as Margaret began muttering under her breath again about pigheadedness and unseemly behaviour. "Maybe your memory's a little blurred from the last little while, but she won't know –"

"She knows what I mean," Jasper cut her off tersely.

Margaret sighed and came out of the shadows. There was a sharp intake of breath from the rest of his family members as her features were thrown into the dying light and in focus. It became evident that the lifeless blond locks of hair tumbling past her shoulders were precisely the same shade as the ones falling into Jasper's face. It showed off the similar structure of her face, the same small dimple in their cheeks…

"What. Happened?" he asked again, dangerously.

"I told you…" There was a slight plaintive tone to her voice.

"You didn't get to the part where you burnt your 3-year-old alive," Jasper said icily.

"Jasper," Esme warned softly, "that's a very serious accusation."

"That's a very real event," Jasper replied stubbornly.

"What are you talking about, Jasper?" Margaret asked.

He lost his patience. "I came _home_ not even three months later! The entire house was burnt to the ground!"

"Well, I do not know anything about that, Jasper."

Jasper cursed in frustration. "You were her f–" he stopped at Rosalie's sudden squeeze to his wrist, and checked his vocabulary. "Goddamn it! How do you _not know_ that your own goddamn house is burning down?!"

Margaret hesitated, abashment and shame flitting across her face. "I… I left her there. I –"

"You what?"

"I tried, really, I did," she repeated, slinking back into the shadows as the other Cullens stared, shocked, at her. "But she would not stop _crying_, and she would never leave me alone, and…"

"How long?"

Margaret's voice was barely audible, even to a vampire's ear, when she finally answered. "Perhaps a month after you left…"

"Jasper," Rosalie warned under her breath as he tensed, growling softly. Her grip tightened on his wrist, pinning it to the ground. Carlisle moved slightly, ready to restrain his adopted son at a moment's notice.

"_Don't_," he murmured. "Your eye…"

"Damn the eye to hell," Jasper growled.

Bella's phone rang just then, jolting everybody out of the tenseness of the situation. Quickly, she snatched it up and said, "Yes, Edward?" She listened to his reply, and then smiled. "Excellent." Holding the phone out to Jasper, she said simply, "It's Alice."

Jasper nearly tackled Bella for the small device, scrambling to get it to his ear. "Lissy?"

"_Jasper Whitlock, you keep that temper in check,"_ Alice's hoarse, exhausted voice came crackling over the connection. _"Vengeance will not gain you anything, and you know it as well as I do."_

"Are you coming back now?" he asked hopefully.

Alice paused, uncertainty in her next, soft words. _"Not now, Jazz. There's something I need to do before I come home –"_

"Please?" he interrupted pleadingly.

"_Jasper, please let me do this," _she said.

"Alice, _please_…"

"_It won't take long, baby, I promise. I love you."_ With that, there was a quiet click on the other end of the line.

*~*~*

"I don't think you should've done that, Alice," Edward said quietly as he pocketed his cell again. "I think it would be better for the two of you to work this out together."

"Edward, it's not fair of me to take him into this," Alice replied softly, trying to shake off another tremor attack. "I don't know if I'm having visions, hallucinating, letting my imagination run away with me… I don't know if I'm actually thirsty, if I'm imagining it, if I'm blowing it out of proportion… I'm not even entirely convinced this conversation is really happening. This is something I have to do by myself."

Edward sighed. "Alice, you _have_ to know this is going to kill him. You aren't talking about a few days' absence, here. When was the last time Jasper willingly spent more than 72 hours away from you?"

"I don't really like it either, Edward," she murmured. "But it's necessary. Let me figure out if my brain is still in one piece before I come home."

Finally, Edward and Emmett reluctantly turned to head back towards where they'd left the rest of the family, and Alice waited until they were gone before she began to run in the opposite direction, muttering to herself,

"I hate lying to him."


	13. Moving Forward

_A/N: Yeah!! After two days of attempting and attempting and attempting, the Document Manager works again! Well, here's the next installment of Dark Secrets... finally._

**Chapter 12: Moving Forward**

When Alice had hung up, the Whitlock Face-Off resumed with Jasper now more pissed than before.

"Okay, everybody just calm down here," Bella said bracingly, getting to her feet in tandem with Jasper. "Jasper, sit down."

"No," Jasper growled.

"Jasper," Rosalie warned again.

"Jasper, getting angry isn't going to change anything," Esme said quietly, pulling him further away from Margaret gently. "Come with me, hon."

"It will make me feel better," Jasper spat out, though he allowed Esme to tug him off to the side.

"No, hon, it won't," Esme murmured softly, in a voice that was clearly meant only for his ears. "Finding somebody to blame and somebody to pay will not make that bleeding hole any less painful. Somehow, I think you know that already." She brushed back a dusty, tangled lock of blond hair away from his pain-filled eyes. "Jasper, losing a child – one that you'd carried, and cared for, and raised, whether it was for three years or three days…" She stopped, pain piercing both her voice and her emotions. "That's not something you get over. That's not something that hurting somebody else is going to fix. It can't _be_ fixed."

*~*~*

Carlisle cast a concerned glance behind him at his wife and son, still deep in serious conversation, before he turned back to Margaret Whitlock. With the slightest hint of ice in his voice, he said, "Now would be a very good time to explain exactly what happened."

Margaret cast another frightened glance at Jasper before she began to speak.

*~*~*

_Briefly, Margaret wondered why Jasper had allowed Celia to cry for so long. Usually, her son was all too willing to cater to her little girl's every desire, no matter how ridiculous it might have been. Spoiling would ruin her disposition in the end, but for the moment, she supposed that it would be second to having some peace and quiet._

_Sighing, she got up and slid into one of her favourite day dresses, unraveling the rags which had held her curls in place overnight. Celia's plaintive cries continued as Margaret sat down at the vanity, opening her jar of face cream and began her daily regime._

_Finally, Margaret left her bedroom with a shake of her head, going up the stairs to find out what was going on. Celia's room was empty, her bedclothes mussed and thrown aside as though she'd already woken. Well, evidently, she had already woken._

_The sobbing grew louder the closer she got to Jasper's room, and when Margaret opened the door, Celia was curled up on the window ledge, blankets tangled around her._

"_Celia, come down from there," Margaret ordered tiredly. "Where's Jasper?"_

_Celia didn't answer, or obey, except to start crying again._

"_Celia, listen to me."_

_In response, Celia turned away, curling tighter into her ball and watching out the window. Sighing, Margaret walked over to the window ledge, lifted the child from it – since when had little girls been so _heavy_? –_ _and set her down on the ground. Celia crumpled to the floor, still sobbing hysterically and clinging to the blanket._

"_Celia, you are not a baby, I am not carrying you," Margaret said._

*~*~*

"It continued like that for a number of weeks," Margaret murmured. "Nothing could be done without a fuss, a fight and three hours of tears. She would throw clothes across the room, refuse to eat, scream like she was possessed by the devil when it was time to take her bath. When I would finally manage to get her dressed, or fed, or washed, she would constantly follow me, and beg to be carried." She paused. "One day it just got to be too much."

"So, what, you just up and left?" Bella asked coolly.

Margaret nodded slightly, as both Rosalie and Esme stared at her.

"Did I hear that right?" Esme demanded in disbelief. "You abandoned a three-year-old girl for –"

"Acting her age?" Rosalie finished.

"Why am I not surprised?" Jasper muttered darkly from behind his adoptive family. "You weren't, by any chance, trying to put her in the green dress –"

"That was a gift from your grandmother Sumner," Margaret protested immediately. "She would have been horrified to know that Celia never wore it."

"The dress was far too big for her," Jasper replied coolly. "Any dimwit with some degree of sight would know that. And she didn't like the material – she said it made her itch. You weren't, by any chance, trying to feed her toast –"

"Now, really, what child does not eat _toasted bread_?" Margaret exclaimed irritably.

"Too rough. It would scratch the inside of her mouth. And you weren't, by any chance, trying to make her wash in cold water?"

"Jasper, that's enough," Esme murmured quietly, touching his arm lightly with her fingertips. "Let go of the resentment." At Jasper's headshake, she knelt down beside him and repeated, "Let it go. Trust me on this. You can't move forward until you let it go."

He shook his head again. "I can't," he whispered softly. "I can't let it go. It's too big."

"Jasper, you can't internalize this," Rosalie said quietly, joining them. "It's going to destroy you. Just relax, and let it go."

"No," he repeated.

Bella's phone rang softly at that moment, and she pulled it out. "Yes?" There was a slight pause, and then she turned to look at Jasper. "It's Alice."

Jasper reached for the phone wordlessly.

"_Jazz, baby, don't keep it inside. I want you alive and functioning when I come back. Just… release it. Stop guarding it, and let it loose." _Alice's voice was soft, gentle as he closed his eyes. _"Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"_ He could almost feel her hand stroking against his cheek as she spoke those words, her eyes looking into his.

Slowly, Jasper started to let down the emotional barrier he'd constructed more than two centuries earlier to hold in the pain. He heard both Esme and Rosalie gasp sharply as the first waves began to strike them, shortly followed by Bella and Carlisle.

"_That's it, Jasper,"_ Alice soothed. _"Not all at once. That's not going to help. Just little bits at a time. Let it go."_

There was a soft, tortured moan from Esme as he released a little more pain. Jasper tried to suppress the urge to force all the ugly feelings back into their little box. But the instinct to protect the others from the extent of his pain was ingrained into him, ingrained as deep as the sensation of Alice's touch.

"_I know it's hurting the others," _Alice said comfortingly. _"But it's only going to get worse for you if you keep it locked up like you have been."_

Instinct flinched away from the thought of the overwhelming sensation of guilt, anger and grief getting worse. He could hear Esme finally turning away to bury herself in Carlisle's arms when more pain was released, could hear Rosalie's muffled sob and Bella's strangled cry.

There was a whisper from the clearing's edge, a voice so quiet, he barely understood through the haze of emotional hell he was digging himself out of. _"I'm sorry…"_ And then came the sounds of feet sprinting lightly away. The rage threatened to consume him when he processed what that meant.

"_Jasper, no,"_ Alice warned gently. _"Remember what you told me? She's just… too young. Too immature. She can't really grasp the concept of parental responsibility – she doesn't know how to handle being _needed_. She only understands being _wanted_."_

With those words, what was left of the anger disappeared – and surprisingly enough, the rest of the pain. Alice was right. Being needed and being wanted required two different frames of mind; Margaret had only ever gained one.

The rest of his family relaxed slowly when they realized that the torture session was over.

"Good God, Jasper…" Carlisle said shakily.

"Please, Alice…" Jasper whispered again, tucking his head between his knees to try and regain his sense of balance.

"_I promise, baby, it'll be worth the separation anxiety,"_ Alice consoled. _"I love you. Every day of forever."_

"Please…" But it was too late – Alice had already hung up the phone. He was about to hit the redial button when Bella pried her phone out of his hands.

*~*~*

_Two years later – Isle Esme_

He couldn't focus on his book – in any sense of the word. The vision in his left eye was still blurred – would probably always be blurred, according to Carlisle – and though Jasper was accustomed to having things only half-focused now, being on Isle Esme wasn't helping him concentrate on the barely-discernable words typed on the page.

Nessie and Jacob were out swimming on the beach. Bella, Edward, Rosalie and Emmett were all in the living room, watching a movie of some kind. Carlisle and Esme had disappeared to the opposite end of the island, where a second, private little cabin had been established decades before. Personally, Jasper would gladly taken the cabin for the freedom it gave him to be cranky without subjecting everybody else to his moods.

Alice had promised not to be long in her time away from him. To him, that meant a week. Apparently, it meant something different to her. Since that day in the Italian countryside, they had only heard from Alice once – the day Jasper had been a hairbreadth away from running from everything. Again, and making it go away permanently this time. She had called, talked him into staying there, promising that her return wasn't far off.

That had been last year.

"Jasper?" Rosalie said quietly, showing up in the doorway to the living room. "You want to join us?"

He shook his head dully. "Reading."

"Mm-hmm," Rosalie said. "Sure you are."

Forcing himself to look up at his adopted sister, Jasper held up the book as if it were proof of his activities.

"Just because you have a book in your hands, it doesn't mean you're reading." Sighing, Rosalie slid into one of the chairs at the table. "And just because you're speaking again, it doesn't mean you're not still hurting." She paused, watching her brother as he closed the book. After a minute, she continued. "She never told you how she became a vampire, did she?"

Jasper knew that Rosalie wasn't talking about Alice anymore. But his human mother's name was never spoken aloud in the Cullen household, for fear of inciting the sort of pain he'd spent two centuries with. "Yeah. It was a topic of discussion at one point. Before I knew who she was." He closed his eyes again. "She was living in Dallas in 1863. She stumbled across him in an alley one night. Yankee in a Confederate uniform."

"Do you ever think she regrets leaving? Both of you?"

"What's with all the questions, Rose?" Jasper asked softly, avoiding the answer as long as possible.

"Nothing, really. It's just… sometimes I think that I was a lot like her, when I was human. And sometimes I wonder, if I'd stayed human, whether I'd have done the sort of things she did –"

"No, I don't think you would've," Jasper interrupted her.

Rosalie smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you. And I'm sure that Alice will be back soon."

"You've been saying that every week for the last two years," Jasper muttered darkly, wincing.

"Very soon," Rosalie repeated assuredly. "She's practically here."

"Are you clairvoyant now?" Jasper asked dryly, milliseconds before a kiss landed on his cheek and the scent of cinnamon and chocolate bombarded his senses – scents associated to a single word:

_AliceAliceAlice…_

Barely refraining from shrieking like a little girl, Jasper let his mind run rampant with plots and plans (ignoring Edward's disgusted cry of 'Aw, Jasper! At _least _wait until I'm out of range!') as he flew out of his chair, backed her against the closest wall and settled for kissing her.

___AliceAliceAlice_…

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his waist, freeing one to put a gentle finger on his lips. "I take it you missed me?"

"Missed you?" he exclaimed. "_Missed you?_"

___AliceAliceAlice_…

"Mmm, mmm, kisses later," she scolded gently, pushing his face to the side. "First –"

Shock took over for the intense relief. Jasper was sure that he must've been hallucinating. There was no way. There was no possible way. "Rosalie, please tell me I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing," he said weakly.

"So they passed her, then?" Rosalie asked Alice in amusement.

"Rosalie –"

Alice laughed, tucking her head against his neck. "I'm afraid I've had them lying to you for some time, Jasper. Celia, come convince Jasper you're real."


	14. Little Angel's Charm

A/N: And here we are... at the end of the story. Well, not really, since there's a sequel. Little Angel's Charm is in the works, to be uploaded some time in the near future. Here's a nice sneak-peek sentence from its prologue:

_"It goes against every single instinct I have…" Jasper groaned in distress, cringing when the monster-sized jaguar snarled and wheeled around to face the miniscule little girl giggling in its direction._

**

* * *

**

Epilogue: Little Angel's Charm

"Let the poor guy sit down first, Alice," Edward said from the doorway. "I think he's about to faint."

Rosalie and Emmett both pushed Jasper, still shell-shocked at the hand fate had dealt, down into one of the kitchen chairs. "All right, _now_ throw everything at him," Rosalie said.

The little girl was wide-eyed as she advanced slowly, arms held out expectantly. A sunny grin burst onto her face, revealing a row of perfectly white baby teeth, when he reached for her tentatively, as if expecting her to disappear into thin air. "Jasper!" she exclaimed happily, jumping into his arms.

The expressions flickering across Jasper's face faster than any of his siblings could process settled into an unfamiliar smile – a whole-hearted, unrestrained smile – as he wrapped his arms around the little girl. "Hey, Lee-lia," he greeted softly.

"What happened to your face?" Celia inquired innocently, touching the deep scar along his left eye with a tentative finger. "Did somebody hurt you?"

Alice winced as she took in the new scar, sinking down into her husband's lap as she whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Jasper murmured back, before returning his attention to Celia. "No, it was an accident, Celia," he assured her. "Where have you been? I thought you were gone forever."

"Rebecca hided me," Celia said matter-of-factly.

"'Hid', Celia, sweetie," Alice corrected gently. "She _hid_ you."

"Yes, Alice, I said that she hided me," Celia repeated. Alice merely rolled her eyes and shook her head as Celia continued, "Rebecca hided me in the desert, Jasper. Far in the desert, where people do not go."

"Who's Rebecca, Lee-lia?" Jasper asked, combing his fingers lightly through her curls to untangle them.

"Rebecca came to the house a long time after you went to the army," the little girl replied, snuggling back into his arm comfortably. "We had to leave very quick, because she said that the Yankees were coming."

"Was it Rebecca who changed you?" Bella's voice was quiet, her gaze fixed on the little girl with an unfathomable expression on her face.

Celia twisted around to find the source of the question. "What do you mean?"

"Before you –" Bella was cut off by Edward's soft nudge in her side, and a murmured explanation in her ear.

"She doesn't understand what you're asking. She doesn't understand where 'before' ended and 'after' began. It's just one long continuum to her."

Emmett stepped forward at that point, crouching down so that his formidable height and bulk was eye-level with the newest Cullen. "Celia," he started to say carefully, "did you get sick after Rebecca came?"

"That's good," Edward breathed. "That's something she can understand."

"No, I was sick before Rebecca came," Celia answered, after a glance at Jasper. "Rebecca made me better. Rebecca said she made me better. She had medicine I needed."

"Why did Rebecca hide you?" Jasper asked.

Celia growled irritably. "No more _questions_!"

Alice laughed, kissing Jasper's cheek one last time before she got to her feet. "Come on, Celia. Boys are far too curious, aren't they?" She lifted Celia up onto her hip without effort. "We girls will go find you something new to wear. Rose, Bella, Nessie?"

*~*~*

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jasper asked quietly as he cast another glance across the hall to Emmett and Rosalie's bedroom. Celia had ventured in, climbing up on the vanity bench next to Rosalie in order to watch her perform her usual Rosalie rituals: carefully brushing out her hair, applying a fresh set of make-up, throwing coy little smiles at Emmett in the mirror. The little girl seemed fascinated with the older blonde, sitting perfectly still as she took in the sights. Emmett apparently found the scene amusing, as he was chuckling from his spot at the foot of the bed, tossing a football in the air.

Alice was stretched out on their bed, eyes closed with a contented smile on her face. "Finally, some peace and quiet inside my head," she murmured.

"Alice," Jasper repeated, opening his mouth to call a rebuke when Celia reached for Rosalie's blush. He stopped when Rosalie laughed and opened the jar for the little girl, taking her brush to lightly dust some makeup on her cheeks.

"Let me enjoy my moment," Alice replied easily. "It's been two years since I could actually _not_ have to constantly decipher frustrating visions. You Whitlocks give me insane headaches."

"Alice, why didn't you tell me where you were going?" he said a third time. Across the hall, Rosalie was dabbing a thin layer of coloured lip-gloss on Celia's lips, looking every bit the doting older sister. "I would've come with you."

"Jasper," she finally sighed. "Two years ago, when we left Volterra, I wasn't sure what the hell I was seeing. By the time I came back to my senses – I suppose the nutrients in the human's blood must've been totally absorbed – my brains were more scrambled and fried than eggs at a greasy spoon. I didn't want to take the chance that I was just letting my overactive imagination run away with me." Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked at him. "It would've killed you, Jazz, if I'd have been wrong. If she really had been dead. Or if the Volturi had decided she couldn't be allowed to live."

The 'V' word had him immediately defensive. "You took her to _Italy_?! Goddamn it, Alice!" Emmett sat up straight in his and Rosalie's bedroom, glancing around the corner with a frown on his face. Rosalie smoothly went from lip-gloss to eye shadow, keeping Celia distracted from Jasper's sudden change of tone.

"Jasper, close the door and come here," Alice ordered gently, sitting up.

"Damn it, Alice, we just got _out_ of Italy," he repeated, reluctantly obeying her command. "And you took _Celia_ to _Volterra_? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Alec and Jane didn't get anywhere near her," Alice soothed immediately, stroking his face with the back of her hand. "I needed to make sure that nobody was going to take her away from you again. Caius and Marcus wanted us to stay there a year so that they could observe her. Aro wasn't interested in her in the least bit – to be perfectly honest, I think he's a little humiliated at Carlisle getting the better of him. If he never sees another Cullen – or Hale – for a few centuries, it won't be long enough for him."

"When was Carlisle in Volterra?" Jasper asked, temporarily thrown by the new information.

"After Afton and Chelsea sent them after us," Alice explained. "Carlisle went there first, to make sure you would be safe from retribution. Apparently there was quite the fight. Carlisle won, obviously. And stop with the questions already. Just be happy and kiss me like you were going to in the kitchen. That was a very tempting vision." She grinned at him impishly. "Major Whitlock, that was an astounding display of public impropriety that you were about to commit. Fascinating – I didn't think the human body was capable of that."

Jasper sighed with a crooked smile. "All right, Lissy," he replied, before he leaned in to capture her lips hungrily. As she twined her arms around his neck, leaning back against the pillows, he murmured, "Was two years really necessary? It was an eternity without you… I have new sympathy for Edward…"

Alice laughed softly. "You of all people know my tracking skills leave something to be desired. It took me forever to figure out where she was. That Rebecca hid her _really_ well."

"Never leave me again," he growled.

"Never," she agreed.

"Not even for hunting trips. Or stupid, useless things like school. I don't want you out of my sight for at least the next decade. You and –"

The kiss was interrupted abruptly by the door opening, and small hands tugging at Jasper's sleeve insistently. "Jasper…"

Alice groaned under her breath as Jasper broke away from her, sitting up to let Celia scramble into his lap.

"Jasper, come play with me."

"No, Jasper, play with _me_," Alice grumbled almost inaudibly.

Jasper couldn't help but laugh. "Lee-lia, why don't you go find Nessie to play with you?"

Celia shook her head resolutely. "She smells bad," she said. "It hurts my nose."

"That's just Jacob, Celia, you'll get used to it," Alice spoke up.

"Go find Bella, then, or Edward," Jasper suggested, lifting her into his arms as he got to his feet. Setting her down in the hall, he repeated, "Let me talk with Alice for a little while, okay?" When Celia shook her head resolutely, he laughed and kissed her cheek lightly. "Just for a little while."

He closed the door, quietly turning the inside lock before he returned to Alice eagerly.

There was a rattle at the knob as Celia tried to open the door. It repeated for a few minutes, Alice smirking in triumph, before a scream of discontent echoed throughout the house and tiny little three-year-old feet kicked the door. Within seconds, Bella's cajoling voice could be distinguished, but Celia continued her temper tantrum despite whatever Bella was offering her.

"Let her scream," Alice pleaded, pulling his head back down. "She'll let Bella distract her eventually. _Please_… two years of pent-up –" She stopped, and then groaned in frustration. "Go _away_, Edward!"

"I'm picking the lock!" Edward's voice called authoritatively. "You had better damn well be decent!"

Alice methodically banged her head against Jasper's shoulder, mumbling the words, "… two years…" over and over.

Jasper kissed her forehead lightly. "We'll figure something out, Lissy. I promise," he said with a laugh.

"Damn Edward…" she grumbled, just as the door swung open and Celia flew back into Jasper's arms, latching onto his shirt tightly with a sob.

"My ears are ringing," Edward muttered defensively. At Alice's angry glower, his face twisted into a disgusted expression. "Really didn't need that image in my mind, Alice."

Jasper laughed again, rubbing Celia's back comfortingly.


End file.
